Development of the metatarso-phalangeal joint range of motion measuring device while walking

Abstract

Falling of the elderly causes the serious increase of the long-term care insurance cost. The falling of the elderly is related to the decline of the forefoot function. The analysis of the movement of a dynamic MP joint (Metatarsophalangeal Joint) is important in the discussion of elderly walking. The purpose of the study is to develop the device and the system that can easily detect the movement of a dynamic MP joint while walking. To investigate the elderly walking, the field test was performed to 4 healthy youngs and 5 elderlies. In the results, we obtained the feature of the angles observed at the MP joint. This time, we added the foot switches of heel and thumb portion in measuring device. The velocity of the walking were estimated by both of the heel strike and toe-off measured by the devices.