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The validation of new phase-dependent gait stability measures: a modelling approach
Jian Jin1, Dinant Kistemaker1, Jaap H van Dieën1
1Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Amsterdam Movement Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Royal Society Open Science
|May 11, 2021
Summary
Predicting falls in older adults is crucial. New phase-dependent stability measures show promise, but their accuracy varies, with foot strike divergence being a reliable indicator of gait robustness.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Gerontology
- Robotics
Background:
- Gait stability and robustness are key to predicting falls in older adults.
- Current methods for estimating gait stability have limitations in fall prediction.
- Phase-dependent local stability within a gait cycle offers new insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To devise and test novel phase-dependent stability measures for predicting gait robustness.
- To evaluate the predictive accuracy of these measures in compass walker models.
- To assess the influence of state space representation on stability measures' predictive capacity.
Main Methods:
- Developed several phase-dependent stability measures based on local stability changes within a gait cycle.
- Utilized compass walker models (point and circular feet) to simulate gait dynamics.
- Correlated new stability measures with gait robustness (largest manageable perturbation).
- Examined state space representation effects (Euler-Lagrange vs. Hamiltonian) on a point-feet walker model.
Main Results:
- Most phase-dependent stability measures showed varying correlations with gait robustness across different models and state space forms.
- The predictive capacity of many stability measures was compromised by state space transformations.
- The divergence of foot strike consistently demonstrated strong correlations with gait robustness.
Conclusions:
- Phase-dependent stability measures face challenges in objectively estimating fall risk.
- Foot strike divergence emerges as a potentially reliable indicator of gait robustness.
- Further research is needed to refine stability measures for accurate fall risk assessment in older adults.
