What are the causes of flat feet, and how does a plantar scanner evaluate them?

Flat feet are a type of collapsed foot arch.

The causes of flat feet include congenital and acquired factors.

Congenital causes generally include congenital abnormal bone development, ligament laxity, congenital muscle weakness, and genetic factors.

Acquired causes generally include long-term poor weight-bearing and habits, indirect destruction of foot structure due to joint and soft tissue injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, and malnutrition leading to foot lesions.

In addition, flat feet are also divided into flexible flat feet and rigid flat feet.

When standing under weight-bearing conditions, the foot arch disappears, but when standing on tiptoes or suspended in the air, the foot arch recovers; this type belongs to flexible flat feet, and this type is mainly seen in children, mild cases, and ligament laxity.

When standing, whether weight-bearing, standing on tiptoes, or suspended in the air, the foot arch does not disappear; this type belongs to rigid flat feet, and this type is caused by structural damage to bones and tendons, and this degree of flat feet is generally moderate to severe flat feet.

A 3D plantar scanner is a device that uses the principle of lasers to detect and measure dimensional and morphological data of the plantar surface.

The evaluation and judgment of flat feet by a 3D plantar scanner are mainly based on the arch index.

Arch index = midfoot contact area ÷ total plantar contact area.

The arch index is AI (AI Arch Index, an internationally accepted standard).

When AI < 0.21, it indicates a high arch.

When the AI data is between 0.21 and 0.26, it indicates a normal arch.

When the AI data is between 0.26 and 0.3, it indicates mild flat feet.

When the AI data > 0.3, it indicates moderate to severe flat feet.

Of course, the data are automatically analyzed by software, are automatically analyzed based on the data obtained by the plantar scanner, and provide judgment results, which are presented on the measurement report.

When taking the measurement, one only needs to stand still in the testing area of the scanner, and then wait for the measurement; the entire process takes only about 20 seconds to complete the measurement and obtain the measurement report and STL 3D data.

The plantar scanner belongs to non-contact measurement, has high data accuracy, has fast measurement speed, and will not cause harm to the human body.