System and method for foot assessment
AssigneeMichael Martindale
InventorsMichael Martindale, Martyn Shorten
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for assessing displacement of the talus relative to an axis of the foot and lower leg, which includes marking the anatomy of a test subject to enable tracking of the movement of the talus relative to the axis, and aligning the foot in a first position, and observing the displacement of the talus as indicated by the marking relative to the first position while allowing a displacement of the rear foot bone complex. Another embodiment includes a system for assessing pronation in a foot.
Claims17
A method for assessing displacement of a talus relative to a predetermined axis of a foot and lower leg, comprising:
- marking an area of a test subject's lower extremities with a marker that assessably follows the movement of the talus to enable tracking of the movement of the talus relative to the axis;
- providing a template for aligning the foot;
- aligning the foot in a first position;
- moving the foot from the first position to a second position while allowing a displacement of a rear foot bone complex, and indicating the movement from the first position to the second position on the template so that a displacement of the talus is observed as indicated by the marking relative to the first position;
- and
- assessing displacement of the talus relative to the first position.
A system for assessing pronation in the foot, the system comprising:
- a marker attachable to an area of a test subject's lower extremities that assessably follows the movement of the talus and allows for observation of a motion of the talus from a first position to a second position based on transmission of a signal;
- a template for aligning the foot in a first position and moving the foot from the first position to a second position while allowing a displacement of a rear foot bone complex, and wherein the movement from the first position to the second position is marked on the template so that a displacement of the talus is observed as indicated by the marking relative to the first position;
- force sensors to indicate weight distribution in an area of a foot corresponding to a plurality of metatarsal bones, while allowing a displacement of a rear foot bone complex so that the force sensors indicate a full range of motion of the metatarsal bones to assist in the assessment of pronation in the foot;
- and
- a processor programmed to calculate the displacement caused by the motion of the talus and relating the displacement to an amount of pronation to assess pronation in the foot.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.