Use of a Collar-Mounted Triaxial Accelerometer to Predict Speed and Gait in Dogs

Abstract

Accelerometry has been used to measure treatment efficacy in dogs with osteoarthritis, although interpretation is difficult. Simplification of the output into speed or gait categories could simplify interpretation. We aimed to determine whether collar-mounted accelerometry could estimate the speed and categorise dogs’ gait on a treadmill. Eight Huntaway dogs were fitted with a triaxial accelerometer and then recorded using high-speed video on a treadmill at a slow and fast walk, trot, and canter. The accelerometer data (delta-G) was aligned with the video data and records of the treadmill speed and gait. Mixed linear and logistic regression models that included delta-G and a term accounting for the dogs’ skeletal sizes were used to predict speed and gait, respectively, from the accelerometer signal. Gait could be categorised (pseudo-R2 = 0.87) into binary categories of walking and faster (trot or canter), but not into the separate faster gaits. The estimation of speed above 3 m/s was inaccurate, though it is not clear whether that inaccuracy was due to the sampling frequency of the particular device, or whether that is an inherent limitation of collar-mounted accelerometers in dogs. Thus, collar-mounted accelerometry can reliably categorise dogs’ gaits into two categories, but finer gait descriptions or speed estimates require individual dog modelling and validation. Nonetheless, this accelerometry method could improve the use of accelerometry to detect treatment effects in osteoarthritis by allowing the selection of periods of activity that are most affected by treatment.

Effects of heat and personal protective equipment on thermal strain in healthcare workers: part B—application of wearable sensors to observe heat strain among healthcare workers under controlled conditions

“…Since this method is not robust against systematic interindividual variability, a linear mixed-effects model analysis was used to properly consider the interindividual differences. The mixed model approach was broadly used in previous accelerometer studies (Van Dongen et al 2004 ; Haapalainen et al 2008 ; Pfeiffer et al 2009 ; Bolton et al 2021 ). In particular, we were interested in making conclusions about how the trial settings over time (fixed effects) impact the measured physiological parameters by controlling the individual differences (random effects).…”

Four-limb wireless IMU sensor system for automatic gait detection in canines

“…Due to their compact size, low cost, and fast 3D motion acquisition, wearable IMU sensors are ideal for free-roaming gait studies. In most previous canine gait studies 16 – 25 , a single IMU sensor was mounted on a dog’s main body, such as the neck, back, or sternum, which only allows assessment of general body movement. We reasoned that a sensor placed on dogs’ limbs would allow for a more precise evaluation of the gait pattern.…”