Sensors' Ground Reaction Force behavior for both Normal and Parkinson subjects - A qualitative study

Abstract

Characterization of normal and abnormal Gait has been a major research field for decades, whether in fall prevention, sports biomechanics or even disease indication. In this paper, we assess time domain statistical properties of the Vertical Ground Reaction Force (VGRF) during moderate-pace walking, aiming eventually to create a reliable mathematical model of VGRF for normal and abnormal cases. For that endeavor, first order statistical analysis was performed upon signal segmentation in order to determine the degree of stationarity and base the model upon it. Furthermore, we performed curve fitting of the VGRF time series between present and past values, which led us to model the waveform with linear regression via Autoregressive Model for both Normal Walking Signals and Parkinson diseased patients' walking signals. However this is done only for one chosen sensor. However, it would be crucial to take the advantage of the array of sensors. Evaluating the cross-covariance between multi-sensor data of a given subject at different time lags capture the most important information. The seasonality in the values give a quite important indications of the behavior of data. The objective behind this analysis is to recommend a preliminary basis to create reliable mathematical model of normal walking signals versus pathological walking signals, that we will emphasize in a complementary work, in the simplest way available and creating fall prevention indicators for old patients.

Implementation of Artifact Removal Algorithms in Gait Signals for Diagnosis of Parkinson Disease

“…Many types of research are conducted to detect PD using different types of sensors and analysis methods. For this purpose, various wearable sensors such as force-sensitive insoles [8] accelerometers and gyroscopes [9] or magnetometers are utilized to obtain Bio-signals and detect characteristics about gait [10]. Due to PD being a nerve disease with symptoms of motion disorder, degeneration in the central nervous system diminishes an individual's ability to control locomotor systems in the early stage of the disease.…”