The distribution of barefoot plantar pressure is measured using the Novel EMED X system (Novel gmbh, Munich Germany ; www.novel.de).  This pressure plate, placed on the walkway level with the floor, contains an array of 6,080 high quality capacitance sensors.  Each sensor has a surface area of 0.25 cm² and can record pressure from 0 to 127 N/cm² during posture or comfortable cadence locomotion.  The data is collected at approximately 50 samples per second and analyzed on a Pentium microcomputer.

Using the Novel software, peak pressure, pressure time integral, and maximum force are quantified for different regions of the foot. In addition, a custom-developed Windows-based program (FootAnalNovel.exe) is used to calculate certain parameters of interest, including the Center of Pressure Excursion Index (CPEI), peak pressure, foot angle, and the temporal sequence of loading for the three phases of stance.

The primary value of a platform-based pressure distribution analysis is to objectively document dynamic barefoot function (e.g. excessive pronation) and aberrant pressure distribution during gait.