Validation of Electronic Weighing Device for Vertical Ground Reaction Force and Centre of Pressure Measurement; and Clinical Metrics Derivation

Ying Heng Yeo; Muhammad Fauzinizam Razali; Zaidi Mohd Ripin; Nur-Akasyah J.; Mohamad Ikhwan Zaini Ridzwan; Alexander Wai Teng Tan; Jia Yi Tay

doi:10.11113/mjfas.v20n4.3546

Authors

Ying Heng Yeo Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Muhammad Fauzinizam Razali Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Zaidi Mohd Ripin Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Nur-Akasyah J. Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Mohamad Ikhwan Zaini Ridzwan Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Alexander Wai Teng Tan Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
Jia Yi Tay Neurorehabilitation Engineering and Assistance Systems Research, School of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11113/mjfas.v20n4.3546

Keywords:

Force plate, validation, ground reaction force, centre of pressure, biomechanics.

Abstract

Custom force plates developed from digital bathroom scales are demonstrated to be an alternative to laboratory-grade force plates. Nevertheless, applying custom force plates are questionable as the measurement accuracy has not been thoroughly validated. This study evaluated the validity of a custom force plate constructed from a digital bathroom scale, which successfully measured vertical Ground Reaction Force (GRF), Centre of Pressure (CoP), and clinical assessment metrics derived from vertical GRF and CoP. The custom force plate data collected during quiet standing, sit-to-stand, gait initialisation, gait, quiet sitting, maximal trunk flexion and extension, and lateral bending were compared to a laboratory-grade force plate. In measuring vertical GRF, CoP, and clinical assessment metrics for all tasks, the validity of the custom force plate was demonstrated through high Pearson correlations, coefficient of determinations, and intraclass correlation coefficients (2, 1) of more than 0.95, 0.89, and 0.95, respectively. Moreover, the performance outcome of the custom force plate was comparable to the commercialised force plates reported in previous studies and successfully matched that of a laboratory-grade force plate. Hence, the custom force plate could be an alternative solution to measure vertical GRF, CoP, and clinical assessment metrics in the biomechanical, biomedical engineering, and clinical rehabilitation field.

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