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Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 2002; 15(04): 223-227
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1632743
Original Research
Schattauer GmbH

Force overlap in trotting dogs: a Fourier technique for reconstructing individual limb ground reaction force

D. V. Lee
1   Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
,
J. E. A. Bertram
2   Department of Food, Nutrition, and Exercise Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
,
R. J. Todhunter
3   College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
,
A. J. Williams
4   James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
,
G. Lust
4   James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 17 February 2002

Accepted 28 May 2002

Publication Date:
08 February 2018 (online)

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Summary

Time overlap of ground reaction forces from adjacent footfalls is a pervasive problem in clinical gait analysis. When overlap occurs, splitting the fore- and hindlimb force curves at the minimum point between them underestimates hindlimb impulse and contact time. A better alternative is to reconstruct the force curves that occur in the period of overlap. A Fourier method was used to quantify the shape of hindlimb force curves in Labrador Retrievers and Greyhounds. Fourier coefficients did not differ significantly (p <0.05) between those breeds, indicating that, on average, their shapes are quite similar. The technique reported here uses an empirically determined shape that is, subsequently, scaled to the duration and magnitude of the original hindlimb force curve. A segment of this approximated force curve is then inserted in order to reconstruct the portion of the curve that was obscured by the overlap. Subtracting the reconstructed hindlimb curve, from the original force record, yields a reconstructed forelimb force curve.

Keywords

Force platforms - canine - gait analysis
 

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