Electronically augmented gait abnormality assessment following lower extremity trauma.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Orthopaedics
• Medical Technology

Background:

• Objective evaluation of patient outcomes is crucial in clinical management.
• Performance-based measures (PBMs), including gait analysis, are vital alongside patient-reported outcomes.
• Assessing gait in lower extremity trauma patients requires valid, clinically relevant tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the validity of using a wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) in an outpatient clinic.
• To determine if IMUs can provide clinically relevant gait data in patients with lower extremity trauma.
• To compare IMU data with a gold standard system for gait assessment.

Main Methods:

• Five orthopaedic trauma patients and five healthy controls participated.
• Kinematic data were collected simultaneously using an IMU and a Vicon video motion analysis system.
• A modified 10-m walk test was performed, and data were directly compared.

Main Results:

• IMU data streams showed strong correlations (Pearson r > 0.9) with Vicon data for key gait variables.
• Measured variables included vertical acceleration, vertical displacement, pitch angular velocity, and roll angular velocity.
• Quantitative kinematic data differed significantly between trauma patients and controls, correlating with observed gait pathology.

Conclusions:

• Wearable IMUs reliably and accurately measure clinically relevant gait parameters compared to the Vicon gold standard system.
• IMUs can differentiate between normal and pathologic gait patterns.
• This technology is easily integrated into clinical settings for quantifiable gait outcome assessment.