Portable inshoe gait analysis device

Gait analysers are devices or systems that quantify the planter /' pressures as they occur under the foot. The data obtained, be it. in visual or digital format, assists the medical practitioner in the diagnosis of an abnormality of gait. This thesis describes the development of a low-cost, portable, inshoe gait analysis device which overcomes all the limitations experienced by other systems currently in use. The non-availability of .robust, yet small pressure transducers, required the design and manufacture of these components. Capable of being embedded within an insole environment, it allows for the unobtrusive monitoring of localised planter pressures associated with all modes of gait. The transducer output, being analogy and continuous in nature, allows for the production of a real-time pressure display an important requirement for the therapeutic assessment and treatment of patients. The flexibility and accuracy of this system surpasses that of other systems. Its configuration provides for operation in remote environments, allowing for gait measurements under specific ambulation conditions. Use of a new transducer monitoring technique, in addition to a new video mixing technique, has enabled this device to compete with those systems making use of expensive processing and display equipment. Two prototype gait analysis systems have been built and extensively tested under clinical conditions. The results obtained provide unique, hitherto unavailable data, which can now be used for a more precise classification of gait disorders. It is already clear that the data will provide the basis for more accurate diagnosis and therefore more appropriate treatment of a variety of gait.

Grantor

Department of Electrical Engineering

Year dc:date.issued

1987

Author dc:creator

• Levin, Mark Raymond

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Noakes, Tim

• Gait in humans

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38865

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/38865