Article

Pedobarographic images reflect the dynamic interaction between the plantar foot
and supporting surfaces during gait and postural activities.
Since intra-foot and
inter-subject contact geometry are grossly similar, images may be spatially
registered and directly compared. Previously arbitrary subjects have been
selected as registration templates, but this can conceivably introduce anatomical
bias. The purposes of this study were: (i) to compute an unbiased pedobarographic
template from a large sample of healthy young adult subjects, and (ii) to
demonstrate how the resulting template may be used for practical clinical and
scientific analyses. Images were obtained from N=104 subjects and were registered
(10,712 pairs) using (i) an optimal linear scaling technique and (ii) a
nonlinear, locally affine, globally smooth technique. The nonlinear technique was
found to offer biomechanically non-trivial advantages over the linear technique,
most likely due to non-proportional inter-subject geometry. Specifically, the
nonlinear template was able to detect morphological signals in a hallux valgus
sample with greater sensitivity than the linear template. Validity of the
approach was confirmed by independently assessing left and right feet, through a
statistical comparison of local maximal pressures, and also through examination
of random subject subsets. The current template, representative of an average
healthy foot, could be a valuable resource for automated clinical and scientific
analyses of foot morphology and function.
CI - Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS