The Need

In the medical and healthcare arena, force plate technology is frequently relied upon for evaluating a patient’s ability to meet normal human standards when performing different physical activities and determining the presence of limitations in mechanistic-type behaviors due to age, injuries, or other ailments. Force plates, typically designed for rigid surfaces, are also used on non-rigid surfaces resulting in incorrect analysis or diagnosis. Techniques to calibrate the force plate on various surfaces would significantly improve obtaining precise and accurate data and assist in prescribing treatments for patients and/or performance improvement techniques in athletes.

The Technology

The proposed approach considers the nature of the ground conditions to ensure reliable data measurements from force plate technology. It factors the rigidity level and other aspects of ground conditions into the data measurements and incorporates the appropriate standards for calibrating measured force data to ensure reliability and accuracy. Additionally, by incorporating durability, repeatability, adjustability, and portability into the design, the calibration setup enables force plate use in multiple environments and standardizes the data measurements.

Commercial Applications

This invention would have application in several sports-related and medical areas where assessing the human body’s ability to complete physical tasks and reach specific levels of mechanistic behavior is essential. An example is using force plates to assess kinetic and kinematic performance levels attainable by elite athletes and using the data to adjust and control training programs.

Benefits/Advantages

Attributes of the proposed approach allow for the calibration of force plates under different environmental conditions, such as different types of surfaces, i.e., rigid, non-rigid, and flexible surfaces

Patents

PCT application filed.