Patent US 6,735,547

A method and apparatus for determining the shape and dimension of a human foot is disclosed. One embodiment of a method comprises the steps of obtaining an imprint of the foot, scanning the imprint of the foot to obtain pixel image data regarding the foot imprint at one or more points, determining at said one or more points the depth of the imprint from the pixel image data, and determining a size of said foot from the pixel image data. In one embodiment, an imprint is created by a person stepping onto a foam member. In one embodiment, the scanning step generates RGB pixel data and this data is converted to YIQ data. The depth of the imprint is generated using the Y or luminance value information for a point. In one embodiment, foot size information is determined from the scanned foot imprint. The foot size and shape data may be used to create an orthotic, shoe, sandal or the like.