Validation of Instrumented Insoles for Measuring Height in Vertical Jump

The purpose of this study was to validate a new instrumented insole called ECnsole for measuring flight time during vertical jump performance. 66 participants performed 3 different jump tests (squat jump, countermovement jump and Abalakov jump) twice with flight times determined using an instrumented insole composed of 4 pressure sensors (PreECnsole) and an accelerometer sensor (AccECnsole), a laser platform (Sport Jump System Pro), and a high-speed motion capture system (HSC); the latter 2 systems are considered as reference methods. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), simple linear regression, and the Bland-Altman method were used to assess validity. Regardless of the jump test performed, the ECnsole system showed a systematic bias close to 0 and a low random error (average random error: +/- 2.8 cm; +/- 3.1 cm PreECnsole and AccECnsole vs. HSC system respectively and +/- 2.3 cm; +/- 2.9 cm PreECnsole and AccECnsole vs. SJS system respectively). The associations between PreECnsole and AccECnsole with the HSC were very high (R-2 = 0.967 and 0.958 respectively). Furthermore, the associations between PreECnsole and AccECnsole with the SJS were very high (R-2 = 0.978 and 0.966 respectively) as well. Therefore, the ECnsole - system can be considered an alternative method for measuring jump height during vertical jump performance.