Bertec FIT - Introduction

Bertec Corporation Instrumented Treadmill Manual 01
Bertec’s instrumented dual belt treadmills have been specically designed for dynamic analysis of human locomotion. Through
the use of strain gauge technology, innovative design, and quality manufacturing, Bertec’s instrumented treadmills are well suited
for locomotion applications in limited laboratory spaces. Each treadmill consists of a number of strain gauged load transducers
and a built-in digital pre-amplier for signal conditioning.
Each half of Bertec’s dual belt treadmill incorporates an independent force plate measuring six load components – the three
orthogonal components of the resultant force and the three components of the resultant moment in the same orthogonal
coordinate system. The point of application of the force and the couple acting can be readily calculated from the measured force
and moment components independently for each half of the treadmill.
Bertec treadmills use a state-of-the-art 16-bit digital technology for signal acquisition and conditioning. This technology makes
the use of calibration matrices obsolete, since each treadmill half comes with the calibration matrix digitally stored on it. External
ampliers available for use with the treadmills provide the user with three signal output alternatives: digital, analog, or dual digital/
analog outputs. The digital signal output can be directly plugged into the standard USB port of a personal computer without
the requirement of an additional PC card for analog-to-digital (A/D) signal conversion. This plug-and-play technology allows a
simpler installation procedure in a minimum amount of time.
The analog signal output can be fed into an A/D board so that data can be collected using conventional techniques. Depending
on the application, signal amplication can be performed for analog output using external ampliers. External ampliers are
either xed or adjustable gain (four and seven adjustable gain models available). These ampliers enable the user to establish
a trade-off between the measurement range and the resolution of the treadmills.
Bertec’s dual belt treadmills can easily be incorporated with the commercially available motion analysis systems to be used in a
fully equipped locomotion laboratory.
Optional accessories for the treadmill are available as add-on features. These accessories include an incline feature, which can
be used to tilt the treadmill up to 15˚ and a safety harness attachment.
Introduction