Repeatability and Reproducibility of the F-Scan System in Healthy Children

Abstract

This study investigated the repeatability and reproducibility of the F-scan system with regards to Peak Pressure Values (PP) and Pressure Time Integral (PTI) in healthy children, ranging between 5 to 18 years of age. Participants took part in two non-invasive clinical assessments, at baseline and one week later. Standardized footwear was supplied and each child was fitted with the equivalent F-scan insole size. A total of 3 trials of 7 meters distance each were conducted. Plantar pressure analysis was carried out using a novel approach of masking the recordings into 10 different areas; both peak pressure (PP) and pressure time integrals (PTI) values were investigated. The PP and PTI were investigated for the left, right and both feet analysed together. Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) test was adopted for statistical analysis. Overall, 30 healthy children were recruited and 60 appointments were completed; 53.3% (n = 16) were female, mean age was 13.3 years (SD = 4.5). Results highlighted that overall the ICC for repeatability was > 0.75 for 95.8% (no = 115) and between 0.5 and 0.75 for 4.2% (no = 5); the ICC for reproducibility was > 0.75 for 85% (no = 51), and between 0.5 and 0.75 for 15% (no = 9). In conclusion, the F-Scan system can be utilised to record repeatable and reproducible data in paediatric gait analysis.