Project Description

Introduction

At the present time, no appropriate methods or technology exist to accurately measure dynamic  biomechanical parameters of the foot during gait. In addition, due to practical limitations currently existing measuring methods fall short for measuring larger populations (availability and cost price of equipment, exposure to radiation, labor-intensive, attaching markers required, ... ).

The use of dynamic 3D images in the field of biomedical and orthopedic research can force a breakthrough in knowledge about the biomechanics of the foot and can lead to multiple innovative applications in medical treatment and follow-up of foot disorders.

This research project concentrates on developing methods and innovative tools, enabling the automatic extraction of characteristic parameters from dynamic 3D measurement data.
 

Goals

Within this project five applications of these new methods and tools will be explored in the biomedical and orthopedic research domain:

  • Based on this technology a new method will be developed for shoe last design. Compared to the current practice, reference parameters on the foot will be dynamically determined during gait.  A large measurement campaign will provide the necessary data for clustering.
  • The foot shape analysis will provide valuable information for the further development of an innovative dynamic bone movement foot model. This project will focus on the automatic detection of internal foot rotational axes using dynamic 3D scanning.
  • Parallel to the bone movement foot model, the developed technology will be used for the parametrization of multi segment foot models. These models are extremely important for the further development of gait simulators and for further research in gait analysis.
  • The developed methods and tools will be used in innovative foot orthotics design. Compared to the current practice, the dynamic effects of orthotics on human gait will be taken into account.
  • The relation between dynamic 3D scanning and biomechanical measurements of plantar foot pressure and ground reaction force during gait will be examined.

Additionally, attention will be paid to the valorization and the transfer of this technology to the scientific world, industry, society and the medical, clinical and educational field.