THE most advanced computer model of the human foot ever created will be unveiled today following a three-year project that included a team of Scots researchers.

The computerised simulation will allow medical professionals, sports scientists and footwear manufacturers access to a completely accurate, three-dimensional image of the foot for the first time. The software incorporates detailed reproductions of all 20 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, and can be scaled to whatever size, gender, age or physical ailment researchers want to mimic.

It has been developed by researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University and Maastrict University in Holland with €3.7 mil- lion (£3m) of funding from the European Union, and will be named the Glasgow/Maastricht Foot Model. The computer model was created by Danish biomechanical firm AnyBody Technology, which will exhibit it publicly for the first time today in a promotional webcast.

Jim Woodburn, a podiatrist and professor of rehabilitation studies who co-ordinated the project in Glasgow, said: "Previous to this development, most computer models of the human body ended in a black rectangle – the foot was simply too complicated to model.

"The Glasgow/Maastricht foot is a game changer. It opens the door to a huge range of applications, including the manufacture of better and more efficient orthotics [braces], resulting in quicker recovery times, reduced symptoms and improved functional ability for those suffering from conditions which afflict the foot and lower leg."

The computer model will now be used to test a huge range of potential cures and treatments such as flat feet or foot drop, arthritis, foot strain or bunions.