Design and implementation of an instrumented cane for gait recognition

Abstract

Abstract-Independent mobility is an important aspect of an individual's life and must sometimes be augmented by use of an assistive device such as a wheeled walker or cane following a fall, injury, or functional decline. Physical therapists perform functional gait assessments to gauge the probability of an individual experiencing a fall and often recommend use of a walker, cane, or walking stick to decrease fall risk. Our team has developed a clinical assessment tool centered on a standard walking cane embedded system that can enhance a therapist's observation-based gait assessment with use of additional objective and quantitative data. This system can be utilized to detect timing and speed of cane placement, angular acceleration of the cane, and amounts of weight borne on the cane . This system is designed to assist physical therapists at the basic level in collection of objective data during gait analysis, to facilitate appropriate assistive gait device prescription, to provide patients and therapists feedback during gait training, and to reduce wrist and shoulder injuries with cane usage. However, more importantly, using the plethora of objective data that can be obtained from this cane, automated gait analysis and gait pattern classification can be performed to understand a patient's walking performance.

A cane-based low cost sensor to implement attention mechanisms in telecare robots

“…On-board sensors on most smart canes are located either on the handgrip [6], [14], shaft [15], [16], [17], [7], [14], [7] or tip [6], [15]. Placing sensors on the handgrip or tip may involve major cane modifications [6], [14]. As both locations affect how users support their weight, these modifications must be ergonomic.…”

“…2) Electronic design: There are different options to measure the load on the cane, both in handgrips and shafts [6], [14] [7]. The main drawback of most existing approaches is that they rely on relatively expensive electronic components, such as piezoelectric quartz force link with in-line amplifier (Kistler Instrument Corp., Novi, MI) [7] or array of force sensor (FSR 402, Interlink Electronics, USA) [6], reducing affordability for end-users. The main drawback of simpler, cheaper sensors is that their range is very limited, usually 10 Kg or less.…”

“…Changes in activity periods also provide valuable information on the person's condition. Cane sensors may provide information on two relevant health related parameters: weight bearing and gait trends [6], [7].…”

Towards predicting frailty symptoms through a smart walking stick

“…In the experiment, inertial sensors were placed on the cane but also on the lower back and ankle of the patient. In the study presented in [7], similar sensors are used to detect parameters such as the amount of weight borne on the cane and cane speed: this objective data will assist a therapist in the diagnosis phase.…”

A Multi-Sensor Cane Can Detect Changes in Gait Caused by Simulated Gait Abnormalities and Walking Terrains

“…To address these challenges while maintaining the ability to monitor in everyday environments, the assistive gait aids (ADs) that these populations often already use have been instrumented [14][15][16]. Recent studies suggest that approximately 6.1 million community-dwelling American adults ambulate with the support of an AD to combat mobility impairments and mitigate instability [17].…”