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Measuring gait with an accelerometer-based wearable: influence of device location, testing protocol and age
Silvia Del Din1, Aodhán Hickey, Naomi Hurwitz
1Institute of Neuroscience/Newcastle University Institute for Ageing, Clinical Ageing Research Unit, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
Physiological Measurement
|September 23, 2016
Summary
Accelerometer wearables (accW) can accurately measure mean gait characteristics like step time and length across different locations, speeds, and ages. However, variability and asymmetry measures are less reliable when not using the lower back (L5) location.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Wearable technology
- Gait analysis
Background:
- Wearable accelerometers (accW) offer promising gait quantification.
- Optimizing accW placement is crucial for usability and data accuracy.
- Location, speed, and age may affect gait characteristic evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of accW location, walking speed, and age on gait characteristics.
- To assess the performance of algorithms validated for lower back (L5) placement at chest and waist locations.
- To determine the robustness of gait characteristic quantification across different testing conditions.
Main Methods:
- Forty younger (YA) and 40 older adults (OA) participated.
- accW were placed on the chest, waist, and lower back (L5).
- Participants walked at preferred and fast speeds for 2 minutes.
- Two algorithms quantified step time and length; mean, variability, and asymmetry were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Mean step time and length showed excellent agreement from chest and waist locations compared to L5, across ages and speeds.
- Waist placement showed good agreement for mean step length in YA and preferred speed OA.
- Asymmetry measures demonstrated moderate agreement from the chest for YA only.
- Algorithm adjustments did not significantly alter agreement between locations.
Conclusions:
- Mean spatiotemporal gait parameters are reliably measured by accW at chest and waist locations, independent of speed and age.
- Variability and asymmetry gait characteristics are less robustly quantified from non-L5 accW locations.
- Flexibility in accW placement is feasible for mean gait characteristic assessment, but caution is needed for variability and asymmetry analysis.
