Equine Lameness Detection System: Sensor Insert for Soft-Ride Boot

Departments of Biomedical Engineering1 & Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering2 University of California, Davis, CA 95616 Abstract
Quantifying pain levels in horses affected by laminitis is often a difficult and subjective process. Dr. Alonso Guedes requests a wireless system that can objectively measure the weight distribution across a horses hooves and the frequency of weight shifting from limb to limb, over a period of two weeks. Our solution is to insert a force sensor within a therapeutic horse boot and wirelessly transmit the force readings for data processing. Weight distribution will be given directly by the sensor output, and frequency of weight shifting will be calculated in data reduction. Working prototypes of the device are currently being manufactured and tested.

Matt Halverson1, Derek Pell1, Anahid Ebrahimi1, and Amanda Borer2

Soft-Ride Boots
We incorporated Soft-Ride boots into our design for several reasons. First, Soft-Ride boots have orthotics that act like Dr. Scholls shoe inserts to distribute the horses weight across the entire hoof, as seen on the right in Figure 1. (Ordinarily, the outside edges of the hooves bear all the weight.) This allows our system to use one sensor per hoof, which keeps costs low. Second, our client has a pre-existing supply of Soft-Ride boots. Third, both shod and unshod horses can wear this boot.
Figure 1: Load dispersion in Soft-Ride boots [1].

Manufacturing
Each force sensor needs to be conditioned by placing 110% of our maximum load (1000 lbs) on the sensors for an extended period of time. Conditioning the sensors will improve the quality of data by reducing the amount of drift.

Background
Laminitis is an inflammatory disease that manifests in the nail beds of horses and can cause intense hoof pain. The disease often develops due to internal factors (i.e. poor nutrition, intestinal disorders, etc.) and may not be outwardly visible. Signs that horses are suffering from laminitis include frequently shifting from limb to limb, spending less time standing, and favoring unaffected limbs (usually the back two hooves). Dr. Alonso Guedes is an anesthesiologist in the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Painkillers are used in his research on laminitis-affected horses, but there is no satisfactory way of quantifying the success of his treatment. To meet his needs, our solution must satisfy the properties listed in Table 1 below. Table 1: Target Specifications Average Weight Force Sensor Capacity Overall Insert Height Wireless Transmission Range Battery Life Frequency of Weight Shifting Per Hoof >1000 lbs. <1 cm >12 feet >24 hours Relative to Other Hooves

Prototype Design

Figure 4: Conditioning sensors with strain gauge loading cell system. We left an 1100 lb load on the sensors for 16 hours total.

wires

ba2ery pack

In order to convert the voltage output from the force sensor into a weight value in pounds, the sensors must be calibrated. We used a material testing system to apply precise amounts of weight onto the sensor. To simulate the loading distribution exerted by a horse, we used a specially designed horseshoe (contributed by the J.D. Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory at UC Davis) that mimics the shape and profile of the underside of a horse hoof. The horseshoe can be seen in Figure 5 and the complete calibration setup can be seen in Figure 6, below.

rubber cap

puck insert force sensor aluminum plate

Figure 5: The underside of the horseshoe that contacts the SoftRide orthotic during calibration.

Figure 6: The material testing system used in sensor calibration. The entire insert is placed under the orthotic.

Figure 2: Sensor insert placed underneath orthotic (left) [2]. Assembled device with dimensions in inches (center). Expanded view of insert (right).

Future Work
Future prototype designs will be scalable to any hoof size. We also plan to make our sensor circuitry using printed circuit boards (PCBs) rather than breadboards, to reduce the size of the external battery pack.

Existing Solutions
A sample of a few existing solutions is presented in Table 2 below, with explanations for why they do not satisfy our clients needs. Table 2: Existing Solutions Solution Function Disadvantages Displays continuous readings of Very expensive; Tekscan Hoof the force distribution on each battery lasts 2 hours System hoof (wirelessly) in wireless mode Subjective to the Veterinarian Five point rating scale based on veterinarian's Observation visual inspection of horse's gait analysis Horses must travel Treadmill to the location where Integrated Force Gives force data for each hoof device is Measurement permanently located System

Our device is an insert placed underneath the Soft-Ride orthotic in the boot. The insert (as seen in a 3D model above in Figure 2, bottom right) consists of an aluminum plate which houses the force sensor, the force sensor itself, a small puck positioned over the sensor to target the load onto it, and a rubber cap which acts as a seal to the environment. The FlexiForce A401 model sensor responds directly to weight placed on it by the horse. The voltage output from the sensor circuitry is sent to an XBee chip which wirelessly transmits the raw data to an external computer. This system is powered by an external battery which resides in a battery pack placed on the Velcro straps of the Soft-Ride boot (seen in Figure 2, top right). A rechargeable AA battery supplies a sufficient amount of power to the system for up to 24 hours, after which the operator will replace the battery and recharge the used battery for the next day. Two external wires run between the insert and the battery pack.

Electronics
The FlexiForce A401 sensor is a variable resistor, with a conductance that varies linearly with force applied. Since the sensor is used as the input resistor in an inverting amplifier configuration (see Figure 3 below), our sensor circuitry has an overall voltage output that is linear with force applied (see Equation 1 below).
Figure 7: The first prototype of our device being demonstrated by our equine test subject, Preston.

References
Equation 1: The output voltage of the circuit is a function of the drive voltage (VT), the reference resistor (Rf), and the resistance of the force sensor (Rsensor). F is the force and k is a constant [3]. [1] Karlin, WM, M Stewart, and PA Wilkins. "The Effects of Full Sole Support on the Weight Distribution of the Equine Foot."Softrideboots.com. Soft-Ride. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://softrideboots.com/pdfs/Laminitis%20Poster%20Web.pdf>. [2] Soft-Ride Gel Equine Comfort Boots / Horse Boots. Soft-Ride, Inc. Web. 14 Mar. 2012. <http://www.softrideboots.com>. [3]A401 FlexiForce Sensor Specification Sheet.Tekscan, Inc. Web. 23 May 2012. <http://www.tekscan.com/pdf/A401-force-sensor.pdf>

Figure 3. Diagram of the circuitry for amplification and wireless transmission of sensor output [3].