A force plate and display system for studying ground reaction forces in dogs

We have developed and implemented a low cost system for measuring ground reaction forces in dogs with normal and abnormal ambulation as they walk or trot over a floor mounted plate that measures vertical and horizontal forces. Orthogonally mounted strain gages measure the forces imposed. A bridge amplifier conditions the signals which are sampled and converted to digital form for display on an operator initiated graphical user interface (GUI) which displays the forces as a function of time on the screen of a Macintosh computer. The system also allows the input of timing of the velocity of approach to the plate and the foot strike can be monitored (via tap reply) on the computer screen to verify the fidelity of the foot strike on the active surface of the plate. The data gathered on a particular strike is stored as a "raw" signal, analyzed and recorded in a spread sheet text format for later analysis.