Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 16, 2026
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
Published on: November 7, 2014
Mobile inertial sensor based gait analysis: Validity and reliability of spatiotemporal gait characteristics in
Lars Donath1, Oliver Faude1, Eric Lichtenstein1
1Department of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Birsstrasse 320 B, 4052 Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Gait analysis is commonly used to identify gait changes and fall risk in clinical populations and seniors. Body-worn inertial sensor based gait analyses provide a feasible alternative to optometric and pressure based measurements of spatiotemporal gait characteristics. We assessed validity and relative and absolute reliability of a body-worn inertial sensor system (RehaGait(®)) for measuring spatiotemporal gait characteristics compared to a standard stationary treadmill (Zebris(®)). Spatiotemporal gait parameters (walking speed, stride length, cadence and stride time) were collected for 24 healthy seniors (age: 75.3±6.7 years) tested on 2 days (1 week apart) simultaneously using the sensor based system and instrumented treadmill. Each participant completed walking tests (200 strides) at different walking speeds and slopes. The difference between the RehaGait(®) system and the treadmill was trivial (Cohen's d<0.2) except for speed and stride length at slow speed (Cohen's d, 0.35 and 0.49, respectively). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were excellent for temporal gait characteristics (cadence and stride time; ICC: 0.99-1.00) and moderate for stride length (ICC: 0.73-0.89). Both devices had excellent day-to-day reliability for all gait parameters (ICC: 0.82-0.99) except for stride length at slow speed (ICC: 0.74). The RehaGait(®) is a valid and reliable tool for assessing spatiotemporal gait parameters for treadmill walking at different speeds and slopes.
