Comparison of Accelerometry-Based Features for Fall Risk Assessment Measured From Two Sensor Locations

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Falls pose a significant risk to older adults, necessitating effective fall risk assessment strategies.
• Continuous gait monitoring offers a promising approach for early intervention and prevention of injurious falls.
• Current wearable sensor solutions often require inconvenient placement, typically on the lower back.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if gait variables derived from acceleration signals differ based on sensor placement at two waist locations.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using waist-worn sensors for continuous gait monitoring in older adults.

Main Methods:

• Forty-two older adults participated in a walk test.
• A triaxial accelerometer was worn on an elastic belt at the lower back and frontal hip.
• Gait variables were calculated from the recorded acceleration signals at both locations.

Main Results:

• A strong correlation was observed between most gait features calculated from the lower back and frontal hip sensor positions.
• This indicates that gait analysis results are largely insensitive to sensor location within the waist area.
• No significant differences were found in key gait parameters between the two tested sensor placements.

Conclusions:

• Sensor placement at the lower back or frontal hip area yields comparable gait analysis results for older adults.
• These findings support the potential for using waist-worn accelerometers for convenient, continuous gait monitoring.
• Further research is recommended to validate sensor placement at other body locations for real-world gait analysis.