A Novel Method of Quantifying Gait Deviations Using Plantar Pressure Patterns

Abstract

Background: Comparing the dynamic pedobarographic patterns of individuals is common practice in basic and applied research. However, this process is often time-consuming and complex, and commercially available software often lacks powerful visualization and interpretation tools.

Methods: We propose a simple method for displaying pixel-level pedobarographic deviations over time relative to a so-called reference pedobarographic pattern. This novel method contains four distinct automated preprocessing stages: 1) normalization of pedobarographic fields (for foot length and width), 2) temporal normalization, 3) a pixel-level z-score-based calculation, and 4) color coding of the normalized pedobarographic fields. Group and patient-level comparisons were illustrated using an experimental data set including diabetic and nondiabetic patients.

Results: The automated procedure was found to be robust and quantified distinct temporal deviations in pedobarographic fields.

Conclusions: The advantages of the novel method cover several domains, including visualization, interpretation, and education.