Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Enhanced spatio-temporal alignment of plantar pressure image sequences using B-splines

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article presents an enhanced methodology to align plantar pressure image sequences simultaneously in time and space. The temporal alignment of the sequences is accomplished using B-splines in the time modeling, and the spatial alignment can be attained using several geometric transformation models. The methodology was tested on a dataset of 156 real plantar pressure image sequences (3 sequences for each foot of the 26 subjects) that was acquired using a common commercial plate during barefoot walking. In the alignment of image sequences that were synthetically deformed both in time and space, an outstanding accuracy was achieved with the cubic B-splines. This accuracy was significantly better (p < 0.001) than the one obtained using the best solution proposed in our previous work. When applied to align real image sequences with unknown transformation involved, the alignment based on cubic B-splines also achieved superior results than our previous methodology (p < 0.001). The consequences of the temporal alignment on the dynamic center of pressure (COP) displacement was also assessed by computing the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) before and after the temporal alignment of the three image sequence trials of each foot of the associated subject at six time instants. The results showed that, generally, the ICCs related to the medio-lateral COP displacement were greater when the sequences were temporally aligned than the ICCs of the original sequences. Based on the experimental findings, one can conclude that the cubic B-splines are a remarkable solution for the temporal alignment of plantar pressure image sequences. These findings also show that the temporal alignment can increase the consistency of the COP displacement on related acquired plantar pressure image sequences.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Actis RL, Ventura LB, Lott DJ, Smith KE, Commean PK, Hastings MK, Mueller MJ (2008) Multi-plug insole design to reduce peak plantar pressure on the diabetic foot during walking. Med Biol Eng Comput 46:363–371

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Actis RL, Ventura LB, Smith KE, Commean PK, Lott DJ, Pilgram TK, Mueller MJ (2006) Numerical simulation of the plantar pressure distribution in the diabetic foot during the push-off stance. Med Biol Eng Comput 44:653–663

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bastos LF, Tavares JMRS (2004) Improvement of modal matching image objects in dynamic pedobarography using optimization techniques. In: Perales FJ, Draper BA (eds) Articulated motion and deformable objects. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 3179/2004. Springer, Berlin, pp 39–50

  4. Cock AD, Vanrenterghem J, Willems T, Witvrouw E, Clercq DD (2008) The trajectory of the centre of pressure during barefoot running as a potential measure for foot function. Gait Posture 27:669–675

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Duckworth T, Boulton AJ, Betts RP, Franks CI, Ward JD (1985) Plantar pressure measurements and the prevention of ulceration in the diabetic foot. J Bone Joint Surg 67-B(1):79–85

    Google Scholar 

  6. Goryachev Y, Debbi EM, Haim A, Rozen N, Wolf A (2011) Foot center of pressure manipulation and gait therapy influence lower limb muscle activation in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. J Electromyogr Kines 21(5):704–711

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Han TR, Paik NJ, Im MS (1999) Quantification of the path of center of pressure (COP) using an F-scan in-shoe transducer. Gait Posture 10(3):248–254

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Harrison AJ, Hillard PJ (2000) A moment-based technique for the automatic spatial alignment of plantar pressure data. Proc Inst Mech Eng [H] 214(3):257–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hughes J, Pratt L, Linge K, Clarke P, Klenerman L (1991) The reliability of pressure measurements: the EMED F system. Clin Biomech 6(1):14–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Keijsers NLW, Stolwijk NM, Nienhuis B, Duysens J (2009) A new method to normalize plantar pressure measurements for foot size and foot progression angle. J Biomech 42:87–90

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Klein S, Staring M, Pluim JPW (2007) Evaluation of optimization methods for nonrigid medical image registration using mutual information and B-splines. IEEE Trans Image Process 16(12):2879–2890

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. McPoil TG, Cornwall MW, Dupuis L, Cornwell M (1999) Variability of plantar pressure data. A comparison of the two-step and midgait methods. J Am Podiatric Med Assoc 89(10):495–501

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Morag E, Cavanagh PR (1999) Structural and functional predictors of regional peak pressures under the foot during walking. J Biomech 32(4):359–370

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Oliveira FPM, Pataky TC, Tavares JMRS (2010) Registration of pedobarographic image data in the frequency domain. Comput Method Biomech Biomed Eng 13(6):731–740

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Oliveira FPM, Sousa A, Santos R, Tavares JMRS (2011) Spatio-temporal alignment of pedobarographic image sequences. Med Biol Eng Comput 49(7):843–850

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Oliveira FPM, Sousa A, Santos R, Tavares JMRS (2011) Towards an efficient and robust foot classification from pedobarographic images. Comput Method Biomech Biomed Eng. doi:10.1080/10255842.2011.581239

  17. Oliveira FPM, Tavares JMRS (2011) Novel framework for registration of pedobarographic image data. Med Biol Eng Comput 49(3):313–323

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Oliveira FPM, Tavares JMRS (2012) Medical image registration: a review. Comput Method Biomech Biomed Eng. doi:10.1080/10255842.2012.670855

  19. Oliveira FPM, Tavares JMRS, Pataky TC (2009) Rapid pedobarographic image registration based on contour curvature and optimization. J Biomech 42(15):2620–2623

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Pataky TC (2008) Assessing the significance of pedobarographic signals using random field theory. J Biomech 41:2465–2473

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Pataky TC, Bosch K, Mu T, Keijsers NLW, Segers V, Rosenbaum D, Goulermas JY (2011) An anatomically unbiased foot template for inter-subject plantar pressure evaluation. Gait Posture 33:418–422

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Pataky TC, Caravaggi P, Savage R, Parker D, Goulermas JY, Sellers W, Crompton RH (2008) New insights into the plantar pressure correlates of walking speed using pedobarographic statistical parametric mapping. J Biomech 41(9):1987–1994

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Pataky TC, Goulermas JY, Crompton RH (2008) A comparison of seven methods of within-subjects rigid-body pedobarographic image registration. J Biomech 41(14):3085–3089

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Pataky TC, Keijsers NLW, Goulermas JY, Crompton RH (2009) Nonlinear spatial warping for between-subjects pedobarographic image registration. Gait Posture 29(3):477–482

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Press WH, Teukolsky SA, Vetterling WT, Flannery BP (2007) Numerical recipes: the art of scientific computing, 3rd edn. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  26. Putti AB, Arnold GP, Abboud RJ (2010) Foot pressure differences in men and women. Foot Ankle Surg 16(1):21–24

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Rosenbaum D, Becker H (1997) Plantar pressure distribution measurements. Technical background and clinical applications. Foot Ankle Surg 3(1):1–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Rosenbaum D, Hautmann S, Gold M, Claes L (1994) Effects of walking speed on plantar pressure patterns and hindfoot angular motion. Gait Posture 2(3):191–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rueckert D, Sonoda LI, Hayes C, Hill DLG, Leach MO, Hawkes DJ (1999) Nonrigid registration using free-form deformations: application to breast MR images. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 18(8):712–721

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Taylor AJ, Menz HB, Keenan AM (2004) The influence of walking speed on plantar pressure measurements using two-step gait initiation protocol. Foot 14:49–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Thévenaz P, Blu T, Unser M (2000) Interpolation revisited. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 19(7):739–758

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Willems T, Witvrouw E, Delbaere K, Cock AD, Clercq DD (2005) Relationship between gait biomechanics and inversion sprains: a prospective study of risk factors. Gait Posture 21:379–387

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The first author would like to thank Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, in Portugal, for his PhD grant. This work was partially done in the scope of the project “Methodologies to Analyze Organs from Complex Medical Images—Applications to Female Pelvic Cavity”, with reference PTDC/EEA-CRO/103320/2008, financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) in Portugal.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Faculdade de Engenharia, Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    João Manuel R. S. Tavares

  2. Faculdade de Engenharia, Instituto de Engenharia Mecânica e Gestão Industrial, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    Francisco P. M. Oliveira

Authors
  1. Francisco P. M. Oliveira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. João Manuel R. S. Tavares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to João Manuel R. S. Tavares.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Oliveira, F.P.M., Tavares, J.M.R.S. Enhanced spatio-temporal alignment of plantar pressure image sequences using B-splines. Med Biol Eng Comput 51, 267–276 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-012-0988-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-012-0988-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation