Multivariate graphical presentation for gait rehabilitation study

This paper describes a procedure to determine the progress of the gait rehabilitation in relation to a reference obtained from a normal population. This procedure includes three stages: (1) data standardization, to give time and space aspects comparable from one individual to another; (2) monovariate and multivariate distance computation, to assess the difference between a disabled patient at a given time in the rehabilitation and the reference computed from individuals with a 'normal' gait; and (3) distance evolution. Since several variables are taken into account at the same time, the star view is proposed, each ray corresponding to the average distance between a given function of the patient undergoing rehabilitation and the corresponding reference function. Thus, as the rehabilitation process progresses, the distances are reduced and the star ray decreases. As a case study, the procedure is applied to the rehabilitation of a patient with an anterior cruciate deficient knee. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.