Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study
Abstract Background Foot morphology has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researches and footwear manufacturers. Usually, the morphology of the foot is quantified by 2D footprints. However, footprint quantification ignores the foot’s vertical dimension and hence, does not allow ac...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Foot and Ankle Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13047-018-0251-8 |
| _version_ | 1797329435114864640 |
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| author | Kristina Stanković Brian G. Booth Femke Danckaers Fien Burg Philippe Vermaelen Saartje Duerinck Jan Sijbers Toon Huysmans |
| author_facet | Kristina Stanković Brian G. Booth Femke Danckaers Fien Burg Philippe Vermaelen Saartje Duerinck Jan Sijbers Toon Huysmans |
| author_sort | Kristina Stanković |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Foot morphology has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researches and footwear manufacturers. Usually, the morphology of the foot is quantified by 2D footprints. However, footprint quantification ignores the foot’s vertical dimension and hence, does not allow accurate quantification of complex 3D foot shape. Methods The shape variation of healthy 3D feet in a population of 31 adult women and 31 adult men who live in Belgium was studied using geometric morphometric methods. The effect of different factors such as sex, age, shoe size, frequency of sport activity, Body Mass Index (BMI), foot asymmetry, and foot loading on foot shape was investigated. Correlation between these factors and foot shape was examined using multivariate linear regression. Results The complex nature of a foot’s 3D shape leads to high variability in healthy populations. After normalizing for scale, the major axes of variation in foot morphology are (in order of decreasing variance): arch height, combined ball width and inter-toe distance, global foot width, hallux bone orientation (valgus-varus), foot type (e.g. Egyptian, Greek), and midfoot width. These first six modes of variation capture 92.59% of the total shape variation. Higher BMI results in increased ankle width, Achilles tendon width, heel width and a thicker forefoot along the dorsoplantar axis. Age was found to be associated with heel width, Achilles tendon width, toe height and hallux orientation. A bigger shoe size was found to be associated with a narrow Achilles tendon, a hallux varus, a narrow heel, heel expansion along the posterior direction, and a lower arch compared to smaller shoe size. Sex was found to be associated with differences in ankle width, Achilles tendon width, and heel width. Frequency of sport activity was associated with Achilles tendon width and toe height. Conclusion A detailed analysis of the 3D foot shape, allowed by geometric morphometrics, provides insights in foot variations in three dimensions that can not be obtained from 2D footprints. These insights could be applied in various scientific disciplines, including orthotics and shoe design. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:05:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-53c69e90798c4033b8ca55c7a4d0fdd9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1757-1146 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:05:38Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Foot and Ankle Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-53c69e90798c4033b8ca55c7a4d0fdd92024-02-03T04:50:57ZengBMCJournal of Foot and Ankle Research1757-11462018-03-0111111310.1186/s13047-018-0251-8Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept studyKristina Stanković0Brian G. Booth1Femke Danckaers2Fien Burg3Philippe Vermaelen4Saartje Duerinck5Jan Sijbers6Toon Huysmans7imec – Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of Antwerpimec – Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of Antwerpimec – Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of AntwerpRSscan InternationalRunners’ LabRSscan Internationalimec – Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of Antwerpimec – Vision Lab, Dept. of Physics, University of AntwerpAbstract Background Foot morphology has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researches and footwear manufacturers. Usually, the morphology of the foot is quantified by 2D footprints. However, footprint quantification ignores the foot’s vertical dimension and hence, does not allow accurate quantification of complex 3D foot shape. Methods The shape variation of healthy 3D feet in a population of 31 adult women and 31 adult men who live in Belgium was studied using geometric morphometric methods. The effect of different factors such as sex, age, shoe size, frequency of sport activity, Body Mass Index (BMI), foot asymmetry, and foot loading on foot shape was investigated. Correlation between these factors and foot shape was examined using multivariate linear regression. Results The complex nature of a foot’s 3D shape leads to high variability in healthy populations. After normalizing for scale, the major axes of variation in foot morphology are (in order of decreasing variance): arch height, combined ball width and inter-toe distance, global foot width, hallux bone orientation (valgus-varus), foot type (e.g. Egyptian, Greek), and midfoot width. These first six modes of variation capture 92.59% of the total shape variation. Higher BMI results in increased ankle width, Achilles tendon width, heel width and a thicker forefoot along the dorsoplantar axis. Age was found to be associated with heel width, Achilles tendon width, toe height and hallux orientation. A bigger shoe size was found to be associated with a narrow Achilles tendon, a hallux varus, a narrow heel, heel expansion along the posterior direction, and a lower arch compared to smaller shoe size. Sex was found to be associated with differences in ankle width, Achilles tendon width, and heel width. Frequency of sport activity was associated with Achilles tendon width and toe height. Conclusion A detailed analysis of the 3D foot shape, allowed by geometric morphometrics, provides insights in foot variations in three dimensions that can not be obtained from 2D footprints. These insights could be applied in various scientific disciplines, including orthotics and shoe design.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13047-018-0251-83D foot shapeStatistical modellingSubject characteristicsFoot loadingFoot asymmetry |
| spellingShingle | Kristina Stanković Brian G. Booth Femke Danckaers Fien Burg Philippe Vermaelen Saartje Duerinck Jan Sijbers Toon Huysmans Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study Journal of Foot and Ankle Research 3D foot shape Statistical modelling Subject characteristics Foot loading Foot asymmetry |
| title | Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study |
| title_full | Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study |
| title_fullStr | Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study |
| title_short | Three-dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape: a proof of concept study |
| title_sort | three dimensional quantitative analysis of healthy foot shape a proof of concept study |
| topic | 3D foot shape Statistical modelling Subject characteristics Foot loading Foot asymmetry |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13047-018-0251-8 |
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