No abstract

In this study we used the INFOOT USB 3D scanning system (I-Ware Laboratory Co., Ltd, Japan) to collect foot size data measurement. Based on this study, we used five measurement definitions based on their anatomical landmarks: foot length, ball girth, instep length, foot breadth, and fibulare instep length. The reliability and accuracy of the observers were evaluated using intra-and inter-observer errors measurement. Accuracy of the measurement is based on Technical Error Measurement (TEM). A TEM value of less than 2 mm for the determined landmarks is considered accurate and consistent. Result from the experiment showed that the reliability is between 93.3% and 98.3%, respectively thus, foot-landmarking was consistent and reliable. We hope to develop a new shoe sizing system based on the Malaysian women's foot sizes and shapes, and to replace the current sizing system used in the country. This research will eventually advocate the interest and needs of shoe manufacturers to produce women footwear based on the new sizing system and ensure customer satisfaction for shoe size and shoe fitting.

The Malaysian women population frequently face the problem of finding the best fitting shoes. This problem is created by the absence of a Malaysian women shoe sizing system. Standard statistical methods involving the Multivariate Normal distribution are used in a novel process of addressing issues related to the creation of a shoe sizing system, in particular, the problem of defining categories of shoe sizes. This study focused on the use of five-foot measurement namely, foot length (FL), foot breadth (FB), foot's ball girth (BG), instep length (IL), and fibulare instep length (FIL). Univariate hypothesis testing was performed taking advantage of the existence of normal probability distribution. For brevity, details for FL, FB, and BG are shown in this paper, followed by a comparison of performance results between (FL, FB, BG) and (FL, FB, BG, IL, FIL). Our results were compared to a similar study showing almost the same aggregate loss and coverage percentage. The result shows that a modest sample size of 160 was sufficient to define categories of shoe sizes to help develop a prototype shoe sizing system using the proposed novel approach. The proposed prototype shoe sizing system provides information for the planning, design, and manufacturing of Malaysian women's footwear with implications for better fitness and comfort.