Innovative 3D-Printed Shoe Insole Design for Youth with Flat Feet

Abstract

lat feet refer to the situation where the curved section of the feet appears flat or mostly flattened to the ground at full. This happened to a large number of youngsters and is a kind of common anatomy irregularity among them. This research aims to identify the issues encountered by these flat-footed youngsters while wearing shoes, identify the related anthropometric data parameters, and develop a design of shoe soles for these youngsters. Thirty numbers of subject persons were studied during this research, which was conducted at Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) and Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK). The research was conducted using a questionnaire and analyzed using Excel and previous research data. Few designs and development ideas for the design of the shoe sole were developed in this research. Based on this research, it was found that youngsters with flat feet mostly felt pain and experienced blisters on their feet while wearing the shoes and pain on the heel while walking with the shoes. The new shoe sole design was developed with a 3D printer and took into consideration the most suitable measurement for the height of the ankle and the width of both feet, dedicated for these flat-feet youngsters who are mostly aged 18–24 years old. This research has the potential to benefit the target group and is in line with achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3) to ensure a healthy and good lifestyle.