Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Three-dimensional foot shape analysis in children : a pilot analysis using three-dimensional shape descriptors

Varga, M; Price, C; Morrison, SC

Three-dimensional foot shape analysis in children : a pilot analysis using three-dimensional shape descriptors Thumbnail


Authors

M Varga

SC Morrison



Abstract

Existing clinical measures to describe foot morphology are limited in that they are commonly two-dimensional, low in resolution and accuracy, and do not accurately represent the multi-planar and complex changes during development across childhood. Using three-dimensional (3D) scanner technology provides the opportunity to understand more about morphological changes throughout childhood with higher resolution and potentially more relevant 3D shape measures. This is important to advance the prevailing arguments about the typical development of children's feet and inform the development of appropriate clinical measures. 3D shape descriptors derived from 3D scanning can be used to quantify changes in shape at each point of the 3D surface. The aim of this study was to determine whether 3D shape descriptors derived from 3D scanning data can identify differences in foot morphology between children of different ages. Fifteen children were recruited from three age groups (2, 5, and 7 years of age). Both feet were scanned in bipedal stance, using the Artec Eva (Artec Group, Luxembourg, Luxembourg) hand-held scanner. Three dimensional shape descriptors were extracted from the 3D scans of the right foot, to create histograms for each age group and heat maps of representative participants for comparison. There were changes to the dorsal, medial and lateral surfaces of the feet with age. The surfaces became less round along with an increase in indented areas. This is supported by the heat maps which demonstrated that the surfaces of the anatomical landmarks (e.g. the malleoli and navicular tuberosity) became more rounded and protruding, with indented surfaces appearing around these landmarks. On the plantar surface, the concavity of the midfoot was evident and this concavity extended into the midfoot from the medial aspect as age increased. The findings of this study indicated that with increasing age the foot becomes thinner in 3D, with bony architecture emerging, and the medial longitudinal arch (MLA) increases in area and concavity. Three-dimensional shape descriptors have shown good potential for locating and quantifying changes in foot structure across childhood. Three-dimensional shape descriptor data will be beneficial for understanding more about foot development and quantifying changes over time.

Citation

Varga, M., Price, C., & Morrison, S. (2020). Three-dimensional foot shape analysis in children : a pilot analysis using three-dimensional shape descriptors. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 13(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-020-0373-7

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 20, 2020
Publication Date Jan 30, 2020
Deposit Date Feb 14, 2020
Publicly Available Date Feb 14, 2020
Journal Journal of Foot and Ankle Research
Publisher Springer Verlag
Volume 13
Issue 1
Pages 6
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-020-0373-7
Keywords 3D scanning, Curvedness, Foot development, Foot morphology, Paediatric foot, Shape-index
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-020-0373-7
Related Public URLs https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/
Additional Information Additional Information : ** From PubMed via Jisc Publications Router **Journal IDs: eissn 1757-1146 **Article IDs: pubmed: 32000830; pii: 10.1186/s13047-020-0373-7; pmc: PMC6993427 **History: accepted 20-01-2020; submitted 10-10-2019

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations