Assessing postural asymmetry with a podoscope in infants with Central Coordination Disturbance.
A single digital foot photo gives an objective asymmetry score that matches neurologist ratings in CCD infants.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team placed babies on a glass plate called a podoscope. A camera under the plate snapped a picture of each foot. Software turned the picture into an asymmetry score.
Doctors had already rated each baby with Central Coordination Disturbance using the Vojta exam. The study asked: do the foot-photo scores match the doctor’s ratings?
What they found
The foot-photo scores clearly split the CCD babies from the healthy babies. Higher asymmetry scores lined up with higher Vojta ratings. A quick digital foot shot gave the same answer as a full neurologist exam.
How this fits with other research
Chung et al. (2011) and Spanoudis et al. (2011) looked at older kids with DCD. They used moving rooms and force plates to show balance problems. Magdalena’s podoscope now shows the same kind of postural trouble can be caught in babies before they can even stand.
Godoi-Jacomassi et al. (2025) dug deeper into why these kids wobble. They found both sensory and motor roots. The infant foot test gives you an early red flag; Daniela’s CoP metrics tell you where to aim therapy later.
Szopa et al. (2015) also measured weight asymmetry, but in standing children with hemiplegia. Their force-platform data and the infant podoscope both spotlight asymmetry, so you can track the same variable from infancy through childhood.
Why it matters
You now have a 30-second, no-cry screening tool. Snap a foot picture, get an asymmetry number, and decide if the baby needs early PT. Use it during intake or at routine visits. Pair the score with later force-plate tests to watch progress across years.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this study was to digitally evaluate the incidence and severity of postural asymmetry in infants with Central Coordination Disturbance (CCD) by using a computer-aided podoscope (PodoBaby) from CQ Elektronik System. A sample of 120 infants aged from 3 months (± 1 week) to 6 months (± 1 week) took part in the study, of which 60 were diagnosed with CCD by a neurologist using Vojta's method and the remaining half healthy, non-afflicted infants. The relationships between Vojta's method, as a subjective clinical diagnostic tool for assessing the functional performance of infants with CCD, and the postural asymmetry results recorded with the podoscope, were also defined. Each infant was placed on the podoscope and photographed underneath in two positions: first lying on their back and then on their stomach. A symmetry index was used to calculate body asymmetry, i.e., the percent difference of abnormal body posture by favoring one side of the body to the other. The results confirmed that postural asymmetry assessed by the PodoBaby was in line with the earlier clinical diagnosis using Vojta's method. Statistically significant differences in postural asymmetry were also found between the healthy infants and infants with CCD. In addition, significant relationships were demonstrated in the magnitude and direction of asymmetry in the stomach and back positions.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.02.031