READY

A little beach forensics, anyone?

As far as we know, there is only one shoe that makes a print like this one. You guessed it, a Newton (great going guys! You are all the way out here on the east coast!). We are pretty sure it is an MV2, because it has 5 actuator lugs. (Danny, Ian, Jordan, please feel free to chime in!)

Look at the top left and right images; left is running, right appears to be walking or a midfoot strike). What do you see? One foot imprint (the left) is accentuated and they are a forefoot striker. We are pretty sure this is how Newton encourages folks to run and if you have ever been in the shoe, you know it is pretty rockered and pushes you on to your toes.

Now look at the images that compare left to right. Notice how the outside of the forefoot makes a deeper impression on the left? Looks like that lateral column is sinking in the sand more. What type of forefoot type may cause this? You guessed it, a forefoot varus!. The forefoot is striking (and coming off the ground) in more supination on the left than the right.

Anything else? what about that right foot in the top right image? More printing on the medial aspect. Hmmm, maybe some increased forefoot pronation or possibly some forefoot valgus.

You could argue that due to the slop on the beach, we may be seeing this…and that would be a good argument, except that these are on the flats and repeat for many cycles.

Yup, we probably should be looking at all stuff north of the feet on the beach, but hey, we ARE geeks and “feet” are our thing.

The Gait Guys. Yes, we are always watching!…Even at the beach!

copyright 2012 The Gait Guys/The Homunculus Group. Al rights reserved. If you want to use our stuff, just ask nicely : )

We always think of ourselves as the CSI or NCIS geeks of gait. We were aware of forensic analysis of footprints and this article is just the icing on the cake!

article source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jhIh9jpQmYAgl6Rv0uBjNQgT1ItQ?docId=CNG.4ecd62b490d0f49529b2cfb2c331d332.481

Security first: When a footstep is like a fingerprint

(AFP) – 1 day ago   

PARIS — How a bare foot strikes the ground as one walks reveals your identity almost as well as a fingerprint, according to a study released Wednesday.

The discovery means that one day retinal scans, voice recognition and old-fashioned mugshots may be joined by foot-pressure patterns as a means of confirming ID, it suggests.

Previous research has shown that everyone has a unique stride. Computers can determine “gait patterns” – the way a person walks, saunters, swaggers or sashays – with up to 90-percent accuracy.

Scientists led by Todd Pataky at Shinshu University in Tokida, Japan, looked at enhancing this finding by measuring how the foot hits and leaves the ground during walking.

They used 3-D image processing and a technique called image extraction to analyse the heel strike, roll-to-forefoot and push-off by the toes among 104 volunteers.

Footstep patterns were matched to the individual with 99.6 percent accuracy, according to their paper, published on Wednesday in Britain’s Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

The study is “proof of concept,” meaning that it was carried out in experimental conditions among volunteers who were barefoot to see whether the theory was sound.

In an email exchange with AFP, said the technology would be useful in security checks.

But it would only work in situations where an individual wants to be recognised, “since anyone can modify their gait,” he explained.

“Automated airport security checks, ATM security, controlled building access – in all these cases, an individual could walk normally to be positively identified.”

Further work is needed to see whether feet that are shod throw up similar telltale patterns.

“We have some pilot data for walking with shoes, but have not yet conducted systematic testing,” Pataky said.

Too cool, eh?

Ivo and Shawn