A Mobile Force Plate and Three-Dimensional Motion Analysis System for Three-Dimensional Gait Assessment

In order to implement an unobstructed assessment of three-dimensional (3-D) gait, we developed a mobile force plate and 3-D motion analysis system (M3D) to measure triaxial ground reaction forces (GRF) and 3-D orientations of feet. Calibration and test experiments were conducted to characterize the sensor developed. To test the accuracy of the new measurement system, validation experiments by using the reference measurements of a commercially available measurement system were performed in a gait laboratory, where a stationary force plate, a motion capture system based on high-speed cameras and a motion track system of XSENS were adopted to analyze human movements. Experimental results supported the proposal that the developed system can be used to measure triaxial GRF and orientations with an acceptable precision during successive walking gait.