Normal and pathological human gait analysis using miniature triaxial shoe-borne load cells.

Miniature triaxial shoe-borne load cells are used to analyze the normal and a below knee amputee's gait. The gait of an amputee is studied from first step on a temporary pylon to a final "normal" gait on a permanent prosthesis. The amputee's gait is compared to that of the normal subject. The load cells are an effective method of analyzing normal and abnormal gait. For an amputee, it is possible to identify misalignments from the output of the various load cells. This method may also be useful for identifying and correcting problems in the painful below knee stump. These load cells are further used to compute the center of pressure of a normal subject and a below knee amputee. Analysis of the resulting patterns has been found to be extremely useful as a measure of the subject's functional mobility.