Plantar pressure-sensing mats and insole plantar sensor pads are ideal low-cost alternatives to force plates for capturing plantar COP excursion during gait. The acquired COP traces, in the form of pedobarographic images are favored by many clinicians and allied health professionals for evaluation of foot loading and balance in relation to foot biomechanics, foot injury, foot deformation, and foot ulceration. Researchers have recommended the use of COP trace for the biomechanical study of the deformed foot and lower-limb to improve orthosis design and testing. A correctly designed orthoses improves mobility and reduces pain in the foot, lower limb and lower spine region during gait. The research was carried out to evaluate the performance of two types of orthosis, namely: a custom-molded orthosis and an over-the-counter molded orthosis to determine the quality of gait of an adult scoliotic patient. COP trace patterns were compared with those of a healthy adult and showed the design of the custom-molded orthosis resulted in an improved quality of movements and provided enhanced stability for the deformed left foot during gait.
A new plantar surface reference system was developed for the investigation of walking characteristic based on plantar pressure. The research involved the recording, image-processing and analysis of signalised plantar pressure video clip of trial of 15 adults who performed a short gait on a custom-built walking access-ramp of comfortable inclination. A plantar TekScan pressure sensing system was placed on the ramp to capture the pressure video clip. Custom-designed soft-rubber targets were affixed to the medial foot axis before the trial. The video clips were processed to obtain the position of the new plantar surface reference system by locating the imprint or signature of the targets in the video frames. Pressure data were extracted from the video frames. The pressure data consisted of plantar-time-integral and peak pressure of four plantar regions. The results showed that the difference in the pressure data was statistically significant at the forefoot region between ascending and descending ramp-walking. Based on the limited number of older adults recruited in the trail, findings shows that they are more predisposed to accidental fall while executing a descending walk.
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