Staff members at Oklahoma State University’s Boren Veterinary Medical Hospital collect data from the new gait force analyzer. The technology helps veterinarians assess the degree of lameness in animals.Thanks to a new piece of technology in OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, veterinarians will now be able to quantify the degree of lameness in animals with sore legs or feet.

Through a gift from John and Betty Stambaugh of Mannford, along with grants from the Office of Veterinary Research and the Dean’s office, a $30,000 gait force analyzer has been purchased.It consists of a pressure-sensitive force plate and a dedicated computer, which receives information from the force plate as an animal walks on it. The computer then registers a visual measurement of the downward force of the foot.

When an animal has a sore foot or leg, it will naturally not bear as much weight on that leg, said Dr. Henry Jann, associate professor in the department of veterinary clinical sciences. “It doesn’t take a gait analyzer to tell us something is wrong with an animal’s leg or foot,” Jann said. “That is usually visually obvious. This technology will be helpful in quantifying the actual degree of lameness and response to various forms of therapy,” Jann said.

He added that problems which will be investigated include navicular syndrome, laminitis, fracture repair, arthritis, and tendonitis in horses. Clinical problems which could be investigated in dogs include various forms of degenerative joint disease, including hip dysplasia, he said