An In Vivo Experimental Validation of a Computational Model of Human Foot

Reliable computational foot models offer an alternative means to enhance knowledge on the biomechanics of human foot. Model validation is one of the most critical aspects of the entire foot modeling and analysis process. This paper presents an in vivo experiment combining motion capture system and plantar pressure measure platform to validate a three-dimensional finite element model of human foot. The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) slices for the foot modeling and the experimental data for validation were both collected from the same volunteer subject. The validated components included the comparison of static model predictions of plantar force, plantar pressure and foot surface deformation during six loading conditions, to equivalent measured data. During the whole experiment, foot surface deformation, plantar force and plantar pressure were recorded simultaneously during six different loaded standing conditions. The predictions of the current FE model were in good agreement with these experimental results.