1. Introduction
Vibrotactile thresholds at the foot are used to monitor diabetic
peripheral neuropathy [1]. A wide range of different equipment is
used to obtain vibrotactile thresholds at the foot and the absence
of suitable standardisation means it is not known whether thresholds
obtained by different systems can be compared. Depending on
the frequency of vibration, the contact conditions, and some other
factors, different tactile receptors and different psychophysical
channels are responsible for the mediation of vibration sensations,
so different equipment may reflect neuropathy in different physiological
processes. The research reported here was designed to
provide some of the information needed to standardise conditions
appropriate for monitoring neuropathy at the foot when using
vibrotactile thresholds.
Most systematic research on vibrotactile thresholds has been
undertaken at the hand. Thresholds for the perception of vibration
at the glabrous skin of the hand are mediated by four
mechanoreceptor channels: a Pacinian channel and three non-
Pacinian channels [2,3]. The principal channels are usually the