A Customized System to Assess Foot Plantar Pressure: A Case Study on Calloused and Normal Feet

Foot plantar pressure monitoring is an important tool for biomechanical assessment of posture, foot complications due to callus formation and wounds and for sports applications. The pronounced cost associated with commercial plantar pressure monitoring systems and inflexibility of custom analyzing data in such systems prompted the development of a versatile system with minimized cost. This study focuses on the development of such a system with high speed data acquisition providing analysis tools for assessing plantar pressure variations of diabetic patients with calloused feet. The new system is capable of achieving a frame rate of 155 Hz which is ideal for pressure monitoring during both standing and walking. The system was verified using 10 normal subjects and 5 diabetic subjects with calluses on in their feet. Results indicate significantly high mechanical stresses on skin beneath callus and postural disorders during standing, in subjects with calluses.