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Reliability of single-day walking performance and physical activity measures using inertial sensors in children with

Corinna N Gerber1, Lena Carcreff2, Anisoara Paraschiv-Ionescu3

  • 1Paediatric Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Lausanne University Hospital, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.

Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine
|April 13, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Inertial measurement units (IMUs) reliably measure daily walking in children with cerebral palsy (CP) over two school days. However, high minimal detectable change values question their responsiveness for intervention outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Pediatric Rehabilitation
  • Wearable Technology

Background:

  • Objective measurement tools for walking performance in children with cerebral palsy (CP) are lacking.
  • Inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a potential solution for assessing daily life mobility.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the reliability of IMUs for measuring daily walking performance and physical activity (PA) in children with CP.
  • To compare IMU reliability between children with CP and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

  • Developed algorithms to analyze IMU data from 15 children with CP and 14 controls over 2 school days and 1 weekend day.
  • Assessed reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and minimal detectable change (MDC95).
  • Evaluated gait parameters (velocity, cadence) and PA (time walking, standing, sitting/lying).

Main Results:

  • High ICCs (0.70-0.98) for gait parameters in children with CP across two school days.
  • Lower ICCs for controls and when comparing school days with weekend days.
  • Reliable PA assessment (ICCs 0.90-0.91) when measured on the same weekday weeks apart, but low reliability for other comparisons.

Conclusions:

  • The IMU and algorithm setup is reliable for measuring daily gait parameters in children with CP over repeated school days.
  • PA assessment is reliable when measured on the same school day several weeks apart.
  • High MDC95 values suggest limitations in using this setup as a responsive outcome measure for interventions.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cerebral palsyGaitPerformancePhysical activityReliabilitySensor

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