Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis
Fragility fractures, caused by low-energy trauma, are a significant global health concern, with 158 million people aged 50 and over at risk. Hip fractures, a common issue in elderly patients, are often linked to underlying conditions such as osteoporosis. This study proposed a cost-effective solutio...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12017 |
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| author | Nazia Ejaz Saad Jawaid Khan Fahad Azim Mehwish Faiz Emil Teuțan Alin Pleșa Alexandru Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova Sergiu-Dan Stan |
| author_facet | Nazia Ejaz Saad Jawaid Khan Fahad Azim Mehwish Faiz Emil Teuțan Alin Pleșa Alexandru Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova Sergiu-Dan Stan |
| author_sort | Nazia Ejaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fragility fractures, caused by low-energy trauma, are a significant global health concern, with 158 million people aged 50 and over at risk. Hip fractures, a common issue in elderly patients, are often linked to underlying conditions such as osteoporosis. This study proposed a cost-effective solution using a non-wheeled smart walker with load sensors to measure gait parameters, addressing the high cost of traditional gait analysis equipment, the prototype used PASCO load cells PS2200 for force measurement, eliminating the need for Arduino UNO or microcontroller-based hardware. A lightweight amplifier PS2198 amplified the signal, which was transmitted via USB to a personal computer. PASCO capstone software was used for data recording and visualization. The smart walker was tested on forty volunteers divided into two equal groups: those with osteoporosis and those without, by performing a 10 m walk test three times. ANOVA comparing spatiotemporal parameters (TSPs) of the two participant groups (α = 0.05) showed that significant differences lay in terms of time taken to complete the walk test (<i>p</i> < 0.01), left step length (<i>p</i> = 0.03), walking speed (<i>p</i> = 0.02), and stride length (<i>p</i> < 0.02). The results indicate that this smart walker is a reliable tool for assessing gait patterns in individuals with osteoporosis. The proposed system can be an alternative for time consuming and costly methods such as motion capture, and for socially stigmatizing devices such as exoskeletons. It can also be used further to identify risk factors of osteoporosis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:33:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-47744357504140b092ca0fac4cf2a0a4 |
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| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T11:33:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-47744357504140b092ca0fac4cf2a0a42023-11-10T14:59:31ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172023-11-0113211201710.3390/app132112017Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal AnalysisNazia Ejaz0Saad Jawaid Khan1Fahad Azim2Mehwish Faiz3Emil Teuțan4Alin Pleșa5Alexandru Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova6Sergiu-Dan Stan7Department of Electrical Engineering, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, PakistanDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, PakistanDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, PakistanDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Ziauddin University, Karachi 74600, PakistanDepartment of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Mechatronics and Machine Dynamics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaFragility fractures, caused by low-energy trauma, are a significant global health concern, with 158 million people aged 50 and over at risk. Hip fractures, a common issue in elderly patients, are often linked to underlying conditions such as osteoporosis. This study proposed a cost-effective solution using a non-wheeled smart walker with load sensors to measure gait parameters, addressing the high cost of traditional gait analysis equipment, the prototype used PASCO load cells PS2200 for force measurement, eliminating the need for Arduino UNO or microcontroller-based hardware. A lightweight amplifier PS2198 amplified the signal, which was transmitted via USB to a personal computer. PASCO capstone software was used for data recording and visualization. The smart walker was tested on forty volunteers divided into two equal groups: those with osteoporosis and those without, by performing a 10 m walk test three times. ANOVA comparing spatiotemporal parameters (TSPs) of the two participant groups (α = 0.05) showed that significant differences lay in terms of time taken to complete the walk test (<i>p</i> < 0.01), left step length (<i>p</i> = 0.03), walking speed (<i>p</i> = 0.02), and stride length (<i>p</i> < 0.02). The results indicate that this smart walker is a reliable tool for assessing gait patterns in individuals with osteoporosis. The proposed system can be an alternative for time consuming and costly methods such as motion capture, and for socially stigmatizing devices such as exoskeletons. It can also be used further to identify risk factors of osteoporosis.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12017fracture preventionbone healthmobility aid geriatric carespatiotemporal analysisosteoporotic fractureship fracture |
| spellingShingle | Nazia Ejaz Saad Jawaid Khan Fahad Azim Mehwish Faiz Emil Teuțan Alin Pleșa Alexandru Ianosi-Andreeva-Dimitrova Sergiu-Dan Stan Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis Applied Sciences fracture prevention bone health mobility aid geriatric care spatiotemporal analysis osteoporotic fractures hip fracture |
| title | Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| title_full | Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| title_short | Examining Gait Characteristics in People with Osteoporosis Utilizing a Non-Wheeled Smart Walker through Spatiotemporal Analysis |
| title_sort | examining gait characteristics in people with osteoporosis utilizing a non wheeled smart walker through spatiotemporal analysis |
| topic | fracture prevention bone health mobility aid geriatric care spatiotemporal analysis osteoporotic fractures hip fracture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/13/21/12017 |
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