Treadmill-to-Overground Mapping of Marker Trajectory for Treadmill-Based Continuous Gait Analysis

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Motion Capture Technology
• Gait Analysis

Background:

• Traditional treadmill gait analysis relies on gait cycle percentages.
• Continuous walking motion trajectories without time normalization are often needed.
• Marker-based optical motion capture systems have limited workspace.

Discussion:

• A virtual origin concept is proposed to map treadmill marker trajectories to overground equivalents.
• This method enables direct observation of physical quantity changes during treadmill walking.
• It facilitates the generation of overground-mapped gait data for validating other motion tracking systems.

Key Insights:

• The proposed treadmill-to-overground mapping method achieves high accuracy.
• Verified treadmill walking tests demonstrated an average total travel displacement error rate of 0.32%.
• This technique allows for continuous, time-normalized gait analysis under simulated overground conditions.

Outlook:

• Potential for enhanced accuracy in inertial-measurement-unit-based trajectory estimation.
• Facilitates more realistic gait simulations and analyses in constrained laboratory environments.
• Opens avenues for advanced research in human locomotion and rehabilitation studies.