Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability
The portability of wearable inertial sensors makes them particularly suitable for measuring gait in real-world walking situations. However, it is unclear how well inertial sensors can measure and evaluate gait stability compared to traditional laboratory-based optical motion capture. This study inve...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1547 |
| _version_ | 1797623233187414016 |
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| author | Paul M. Riek Aaron N. Best Amy R. Wu |
| author_facet | Paul M. Riek Aaron N. Best Amy R. Wu |
| author_sort | Paul M. Riek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The portability of wearable inertial sensors makes them particularly suitable for measuring gait in real-world walking situations. However, it is unclear how well inertial sensors can measure and evaluate gait stability compared to traditional laboratory-based optical motion capture. This study investigated whether an inertial sensor-based motion-capture suit could accurately assess gait stability. Healthy adult participants were asked to walk normally, with eyes closed, with approximately twice their normal step width, and in tandem. Their motion was simultaneously measured by inertial measurement units (IMU) and optical motion capture (Optical). Gait stability was assessed by calculating the margin of stability (MoS), short-term Lyapunov exponents, and step variability, along with basic gait parameters, using each system. We found that IMUs were able to detect the same differences among conditions as Optical for all but one of the measures. Bland–Altman and intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis demonstrated that mediolateral parameters (step width and mediolateral MoS) were measured less accurately by IMUs compared to their anterior-posterior equivalents (step length and anterior-posterior MoS). Our results demonstrate that IMUs can be used to evaluate gait stability through detecting changes in stability-related measures, but that the magnitudes of these measures might not be accurate or reliable, especially in the mediolateral direction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:25:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-faa8261e7fa946fbb506094e41980f3c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T09:25:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-faa8261e7fa946fbb506094e41980f3c2023-11-16T18:02:39ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-01-01233154710.3390/s23031547Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait StabilityPaul M. Riek0Aaron N. Best1Amy R. Wu2Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaIngenuity Labs Research Institute, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaIngenuity Labs Research Institute, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, CanadaThe portability of wearable inertial sensors makes them particularly suitable for measuring gait in real-world walking situations. However, it is unclear how well inertial sensors can measure and evaluate gait stability compared to traditional laboratory-based optical motion capture. This study investigated whether an inertial sensor-based motion-capture suit could accurately assess gait stability. Healthy adult participants were asked to walk normally, with eyes closed, with approximately twice their normal step width, and in tandem. Their motion was simultaneously measured by inertial measurement units (IMU) and optical motion capture (Optical). Gait stability was assessed by calculating the margin of stability (MoS), short-term Lyapunov exponents, and step variability, along with basic gait parameters, using each system. We found that IMUs were able to detect the same differences among conditions as Optical for all but one of the measures. Bland–Altman and intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis demonstrated that mediolateral parameters (step width and mediolateral MoS) were measured less accurately by IMUs compared to their anterior-posterior equivalents (step length and anterior-posterior MoS). Our results demonstrate that IMUs can be used to evaluate gait stability through detecting changes in stability-related measures, but that the magnitudes of these measures might not be accurate or reliable, especially in the mediolateral direction.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1547inertial measurement unitgait stabilityhuman locomotionbiomechanics |
| spellingShingle | Paul M. Riek Aaron N. Best Amy R. Wu Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability Sensors inertial measurement unit gait stability human locomotion biomechanics |
| title | Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability |
| title_full | Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability |
| title_fullStr | Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability |
| title_short | Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability |
| title_sort | validation of inertial sensors to evaluate gait stability |
| topic | inertial measurement unit gait stability human locomotion biomechanics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/3/1547 |
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