Modeling for Military Operational Medicine Scientific and Technical Objectives (Application of a Portable F-Scan System)

摘要

Recent advances in biomechanics have the potential to assist in the reduction of overuse injuries in the military. The three major components for this effort are: (1) a predictive overuse injury model, (2) a portable sensor to measure the primary input of the model- ground reaction forces, and (3) analysis of data from personnel undergoing military field exercises. This work evaluates a prototype portable sensor modified from an F-scan system. The accuracy of the F-scan system to measure ground reaction forces has been addressed in a previous report (Sih 2001). The F-scan system (Tekscan, Inc., Boston, MA) is an in-shoe sensor that measures plantar pressure distribution using a thin disposable sheet composed of an array of pressure sensing elements or sensels. Currently, the F- scan system is 'tethered' to a PC- compatible computer with 10-meter cables. The portable system developed by Jaycor, Inc. is designed to temporarily store F- scan sensor output in a transportable memory system, which can be downloaded to a computer at a later time. The current prototype can collect 4000 frames of data from each foot.