SHIMMER: A new tool for temporal gait analysis

Abstract

Development of a flexible wireless sensor platform for measurement of biomechanical and physiological variables related to functional movement would be a vital step towards effective ambulatory monitoring and early detection of risk factors in the ageing population. The small form factor, wirelessly enabled SHIMMER platform has been developed towards this end. This study is focused assessing the utility of the SHIMMER for use in ambulatory human gait analysis. Temporal gait parameters derived from a tri-axial gyroscope contained in the SHIMMER are compared against those acquired simultaneously using the CODA motion analysis system. Results from a healthy adult male subject show excellent agreement (ICC(2, k) > 0.85) in stride, swing and stance time for 10 walking trials and 4 run trials. The mean differences using the Bland and Altman method for stance, stride and swing times were 0.0087, 0.0044 and -0.0061 seconds respectively. These results suggest that the SHIMMER is a versatile cost effective tool for use in temporal gait analysis.

Method analysis of accelerometers and gyroscopes in running gait: A systematic review

“…Of the 38 articles included in this review 23 articles utilised accelerometers and/or gyroscopes during running gait to identify coach orientated kinematic parameters (See Table 1.2). 48 Bergamini et al 17 Bichler et al 18 Cooper et al 19 Hausswirth et al 11 Heiden et al 49 Le Bris et al 31 Lee et al 32 Lee et al 47 McCurdy et al 50 McGrath et al 13 Mercer et al 35 Mercer et al 36 Neville et al 51 Neville et al 52 O'Donovan et al 20 Purcell et al 53 Stohrmann et al 22 Stohrmann et al 21 Stohrmann et al 23 Tan et al 14 Wixted et al 54 Yang et al 15 Step/Stride Frequency…”

“…All three studies identified different methods to analyse angular velocity for ground contact. O'Donovan et al 20 used a method by Aminian et al 57 which utilised mediolateral angular velocity. Bichler et al 18 stated that foot contact occurred between the first and last samples of angular velocity below 1rad in the respective foot and McGrath et al 13 utilised an algorithm which calculated thresholds based on angular velocity about the y-axis …”

“…Gyroscope data derived from IMU units were also utilised to measure temporal parameters with O'Donovan et al 20 , Bichler et al 18 and McGrath et al 13 all identifying foot/ground interface using angular velocity. All three studies identified different methods to analyse angular velocity for ground contact.…”

Evaluating the accuracy of a mobile Kinect-based gait-monitoring system for fall prediction

“…Wearable devices (such as gyroscopes, pressure sensors, etc.) have been also proposed [12,13], especially for ambulatory measurements in home settings. Despite their low cost and lightweight, wearable sensors must be correctly placed by a technical expert, and are not accurate due to signal noise and drift.…”

Distance Physical Rehabilitation System Framework with Multi-Kinect Motion Captured Data

“…Therefore, such systems are only suitable for laboratory settings. Wearable sensors systems are more suitable for ambulatory measurements in home settings as they are small, lightweight, mobile and less expensive [14], [15]. But these sensors must be placed correctly and securely [16], and must account for gravity, noise and signal drift [5].…”