The new method of plotting steps in foulage test

Foulage test is a unique stepping test, in which the patient lifts up only his/her heels alternately, at 120 BPM, 60 seconds with the eyes open and 60 seconds with the eyes closed, on a stabilometer. The environed area (A) and total length (L) were measured and the FT value, a new dynamic equilibrium parameter, 120 A/L, was calculated. We tried to plot the contact points of the heels to image the equilibrium disorder. We analyzed the variance of these plots to compare the findings between the open-eye and closed-eye condition in 39 Romberg-positive patients. The standard deviation in the closed-eye condition was higher as compared with that in the open-eye condition. The variance was strongly related to the FT value.