Plantar Pressure & Biothesiometry

Foot plantar pressure is the pressure field that acts between the foot and the support surface during everyday locomotor activities. Information derived from such pressure measures is important in gait and posture research for diagnosing lower limb problems, footwear design, sport biomechanics, injury prevention and other applications. This paper reviews foot plantar sensors characteristics as reported in the literature in addition to foot plantar pressure measurement systems applied to a variety of research problems. Strengths and limitations of current systems are discussed and a wireless foot plantar pressure system is proposed suitable for measuring high pressure distributions under the foot with high accuracy and reliability. The novel system is based on highly linear pressure sensors with no hysteresis.

Biothesiometry

Biothesiometry is a noninvasive medical test used to quantify the perception of vibration by measuring its threshold. It is used in neurology and electrophysiology to diagnose a number of conditions, like diabetic neuropathy and erectile dysfunction, where the vibration perception threshold (VPT) would be higher than average.