Pressure Distribution Image Analysis Process

Patent Publication Number: US 6668661 B2

Title: Pressure distribution image analysis process

Filing Date: March 15, 2001

Priority Date: March 15, 2001

Inventor(s): Cristin Rider

Original Assignee / Applicant(s): Ram Consulting, Inc.

Link to Patent: US6668661B2

Summary:

The present invention discloses methods for detecting and analyzing the distribution of pressure on an object or area resulting from an imposed static or kinetic force. Through the analysis, an area of contact, a total applied force, an average pressure, a maximum pressure, and an area of each pressure range may be determined. The process utilizes a color-changing pressure sensitive material, such as Fujifilm Prescale® and Pressurex-Micro® mats, to record the pressure of contact and a shade/color detecting software, Mira Pro Software (“MIRA”), to measure the recorded pressure from the film. In a preferred embodiment, a pressure-sensitive material is placed on a surface and a force is applied to it. The pressure applied to the pressure-sensitive material causes a color change or appearance of color on the pressure-sensitive material. The pressure-sensitive material is then scanned, each shade or color on the pressure-sensitive material assigned a pixel value corresponding with pressure values by the analytical software, and the total pixel area values are measured to determine pressure characteristics, such as average pressure or total pressure area.