A new technique using roentgen stereophotogrammetry to measure changes in the spatial conformation of bovine hind claws in response to external loads

•A method has been developed for load deformation experiments with limbs of large mammals.•Applied force was measured with a force plate.•Roentgen stereophotogrammetry was used to determine marker locations.•Minute deformations in claws due to mechanical load could be measured.•Quantification of deformations improves understanding of internal load distribution. Claw and locomotion problems are widespread in ungulates. Although it is presumed that mechanical overload is an important contributor to claw tissue damage and impaired locomotion, deformation and claw injury as a result of mechanical loading has been poorly quantified and, as a result, practical solutions to reduce such lesions have been established mostly through trial and error. In this study, an experimental technique was developed that allowed the measurement under controlled loading regimes of minute deformations in the lower limbs of dissected specimens from large ungulates. Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) was applied to obtain 3D marker coordinates with an accuracy of up to 0.1 mm with optimal contrast and to determine changes in the spatial conformation. A force plate was used to record the applied forces in three dimensions. The results obtained for a test sample (cattle hind leg) under three loading conditions showed that small load-induced deformations and translations as well as small changes in centres of force application could be measured. Accuracy of the order of 0.2–0.3 mm was feasible under practical circumstances with suboptimal contrast. These quantifications of claw deformation during loading improve understanding of the spatial strain distribution as a result of external loading and the risks of tissue overload. The method promises to be useful in determining load–deformation relationships for a wide variety of specimens and circumstances.