Dynamic Assessment

By walking over the pressure-sensitive mat, tiny sensors pick up how pressure is distributed across your foot when it is in contact with the ground.

Not only does TOG GaitScan collect data on where the pressure is distributed, but also on the relative timing and degree of pressure in different parts of the foot throughout each step.

This raw data is then presented in the following ways:

a) 3-D models of the foot which show areas of high and low pressure

The peaks show the areas of high pressure, and the troughs show areas of low pressure.

In this particular foot, areas of higher pressure are present along the base of the toes and in the big and second toe.











b) 2-D colour images which show the centre of pressure line and areas of high and low pressure

The dotted line is the centre of pressure line. The closer the dots, the slower the foot is moving, the further apart the dots the quicker the foot is moving.

In this example of a severe varus footshape, hyperpronation through the midstance phase of the gait cycle is shown by very wide spacing of the dots on the centre of pressure line. This foot spends too much time on the rearfoot trying to prevent over-pronation and too much time of the forefoot struggling to supinate sufficiently for toe-off.

Toe-off should occur from the second toe, but here hyperpronation forces the centre of pressure to the inner, or medial side of the foot and then through the big toe, causing bunions to develop.

Areas of red indicate high pressure, and areas of dark blue indicate low pressure. Optimal foot function shows no areas of red, but here too much pressure is being forced through the heel and the big toes, with too little across much of the rest of the foot.


c) Comparison of data against that for an optimally functioning foot

This is the standard by which all TOG gaitscans are compared.

This scan of the optimally functioning foot shows the ideal position, shape and spacing of the centre of pressure line, together with optimal pressure distribution across the foot.

d) Graphs and tables of data which show the relationship of timing and extent of pressure across each foot throughout every step

These graphs present the same data as shown by the 3-D and 2-D images, but in a way which enables the laboratories to create a custom orthotic direct from the digital information.

This eliminates the subjectivity involved in having the practitioner interpret and design a custom orthotic from this raw data by hand.

The result is consistently more accurate and reliable custom orthoses, regardless of the differences in skills and knowledge of each practitioner using the equipment. This increases standards and objectivity in the creation of custom functional orthoses.

The 2-D and 3-D images are very useful as educational tools for both patients and practitioners, and it is possible to identify the foot type from these images. The graphs and tables provide the data in a more complex way which can be analysed in greater depth to provide a more complex understanding of foot function.