An adaptive gyroscope-based algorithm for temporal gait analysis

Abstract

Body-worn kinematic sensors have been widely proposed as the optimal solution for portable, low cost, ambulatory monitoring of gait. This study aims to evaluate an adaptive gyroscope-based algorithm for automated temporal gait analysis using body-worn wireless gyroscopes. Gyroscope data from nine healthy adult subjects performing four walks at four different speeds were then compared against data acquired simultaneously using two force plates and an optical motion capture system. Data from a poliomyelitis patient, exhibiting pathological gait walking with and without the aid of a crutch, were also compared to the force plate. Results show that the mean true error between the adaptive gyroscope algorithm and force plate was -4.5 ± 14.4 ms and 43.4 ± 6.0 ms for IC and TC points, respectively, in healthy subjects. Similarly, the mean true error when data from the polio patient were compared against the force plate was -75.61 ± 27.53 ms and 99.20 ± 46.00 ms for IC and TC points, respectively. A comparison of the present algorithm against temporal gait parameters derived from an optical motion analysis system showed good agreement for nine healthy subjects at four speeds. These results show that the algorithm reported here could constitute the basis of a robust, portable, low-cost system for ambulatory monitoring of gait.

A Real-Time Gait Event Detection for Lower Limb Prosthesis Control and Evaluation

“…Control and Evaluation Detection algorithms based on machine learning and rulebased heuristics are used to identify gait events/phases [6,9,15,[17][18][19][20]. Catalfamo et al [9] evaluated the detection of IC and end of the contact (foot off ) using a single gyroscope on the shank which was validated with seven control subjects walking on level ground and an inclined surface.…”

“…Most of the studies were implemented offline with very few real-time data either from the healthy subjects or subjects with motor-control and functional disorders [3,4,9,12,13,17]. Sellas et al [3] reported a MD ± Std of 34 ± 25 ms and 19 ± 36 ms for IC and TO respectively in control subjects and 33 ± 41 ms and 13 ± 38 ms for IC and TO respectively in transtibial amputees.…”

“…Recent advancements allow these sensors to be miniaturized, with faster processing capability and higher memory capacities to support outdoor applications [9]. The gyroscopes, in particular, are used for ambulatory gait assessment, foot-drop correction, control of lower limb prostheses and orthoses and other related clinical applications [14][15][16][17].…”

Biomechanical Assessments in Sports and Ergonomics

“…They exist in one-dimensional as well as multidirectional configurations and are similarly easy to apply as accelerometers. They are often used in combination with accelerometers, magnetic or other sensors and provide estimates for movement of segments in a kinematic chain (Brodie et al, 2008;Greene et al, 2010) using e.g., Kalman filter technique (Luinge & Veltink, 2005). A considerable advantage of this approach is that one can measure full body kinematics in virtually any environment (Cloete & Scheffer, 2010).…”

Fifty years of publishing in biomedical engineering: reflections after 7-year editorship

“…To give some insight onto the best-cited original papers, we selected the top ten from the periods 2008-2009 and 2010-2011. Out of these 20 papers, 7 are in the area of the circulation [8,9,15,20,24,25,27], 7 in the area of rehabilitation including brain computer interface [6,7,11,14,16,17,28], 2 related to sleep [19,35], 2 to tissue engineering and nanotechnology and 2 to electroporation [4,21]. Obviously the distribution of these subjects of publications are somewhat influenced by the special issues we had over this period [2,5,12,18,26,31,32].…”