Nike, Inc.

Prosthetics Research Study

Robert E Borchers

David Alan Boone

Bruce J Kilgore

Joel C Johnson

Ernest M Burgess

Eric D Rosenthal

Eric Thomas Peterson

Kenneth Birdwell

Aaron W Joseph

Douglas G Smith

A device and method is provided for quickly and accurately determining the size and shape of a human extremity such as a foot by projecting light around a periphery of the extremity and capturing an image of the illuminated foot through a transparent plate. Various embodiments contemplate using light having a wavelength in the near-infrared range to reduce contrast problems caused by dyes used in socks and skin tone problems created by highly pigmented individuals. An image of the foot is digitized and stored in a computer memory in both an illuminated state and a non-illuminated state, and the two images are subtracted. Additional image processing steps on the subtracted image result in various measurement quantities such as foot length, width, arch length, heel width, and arch height.

Apparatus and method of measuring human extremities using peripheral illumination techniques

A device and method is provided for quickly and accurately obtaining surface contour information from an object without the need for precisely aligning and calibrating mechanical structures or optics elements, and without moving parts. In various embodiments, the invention includes steps of projecting a plurality of parallel planes of laser light through a transparent plate onto a surface of the object, receiving a reflection from the object in a digital camera, and performing image processing on the reflected image to reconstruct the three-dimensional surface of the object therefrom. The image processing includes steps of subtracting an image of the object in its non-illuminated state from an image of the object illuminated by the plurality of parallel planes of light, performing a thresholding operation on the subtracted image, and generating a line array containing lines having curvature deformations due to surface deviations on the object. The line array is transformed into a three-dimensional image by applying a transformation matrix previously obtained by processing an image of a calibration gauge placed on the transparent plate. Both single-image and multiple-image projection systems may be implemented.

Object imaging device and method using line striping

A monitor records the gait activity of a wearer. The monitor is constructed to determine and record the number of steps taken by a wearer during selected intervals. The monitor includes an optical transmitter receiver to permit the monitor to be optically coupled to a stand-alone computer for transmitting data therebetween. The monitor can be programmed by the stand-alone computer to change the duration of the selected time interval period. Similarly, the gait activity data stored by the monitor can be downloaded to the stand-alone computer for analyzing the data and generating selected reports.

Gait activity monitor

Growing community of inventors

Lake Oswego, OR, United States of America

Robert E Borchers