Reliability and validity of a force-sensing resistor for the measurement of static Hindlimb weight distribution in beagle dogs

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Force-Sensing Resistor (FSR) for measurement of static hindlimb weight distribution in beagle dogs and to compare these results to a Digital Weighing Scale (DWS). Nine healthy beagle dogs were recruited for this study. Static weight distribution was evaluated four times at intervals of 5 days with each device and two observers to calculate the intra- and interobserver reliability. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values of the FSR for intraobserver reliability were moderate to good (0.74). The results for the DWS showed poor to moderate (0.56) ICC values for intraobserver reliability. The ICC values for interobserver reliability were 0.53 and 0.61 for FSR and DWS, respectively, indicating poor to moderate agreement. Our findings suggest that the Force-Sensing Resistor can be used to measure static weight distribution in veterinary medicine. However, caution should be taken when comparing measured values of static weight distribution obtained utilizing both the FSR and DWS due to their low positive correlation (R = 0.41, p < 0.01).