Instrumented treadmill for measuring vertical ground reaction forces in horses.

The research article is about the development and validation of an instrumented treadmill for measuring vertical ground reaction forces in horses. The tool, which aims to assess load distribution and interlimb coordination, can measure all four limbs simultaneously.

Development of the Instrumented Treadmill

• This study is centered around the crafting and validation of an advanced treadmill capable of gauging vertical ground reaction forces of all four limbs of horses at the same time.
• Data for this research was collected from horses walking and trotting on the treadmill.
• The researchers installed 18 piezo-electric force transducers between the treadmill frame and the supporting steel platform. This was done to take accurate measurements of forces at their corresponding bearing points.
• Every force from the 18 sensors was the sum of the unknown hoof forces that were then multiplied with the transfer coefficients of their pertinent force application points.

Methodology and System Validation

• The forces on the four paths were calculated, solving the resulting equation system at each time point. This was done using the Gaussian least-squares method.
• For validating the system, several tests were performed, such as positioning system accuracy determination, linearity test of the force transfer to the individual sensors, determination of the natural frequencies of the system, determination of superimposed forces in a static configuration with the treadmill-integrated force measuring system (TiF).
• A comparative study was also done between vertical ground reaction forces captured by TiF and force shoes mounted on the forelimbs of a horse.

Results and Conclusion

• The comparison between the static test loads and forces measured and calculated by TiF reflected variations of less than 1.4%.
• The force traces by TiF and the force shoes demonstrated high correlation (r >= 0.998).
• The findings conclude that this treadmill is reliable for assessing load distribution and coordination between limbs in a short period. Hence, it is deemed suitable for experimental and clinical explorations.