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Validation of Inertial Sensors to Evaluate Gait Stability
Paul M Riek1, Aaron N Best1, Amy R Wu1
1Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 11, 2023
Summary
Wearable inertial sensors can detect changes in gait stability across different walking conditions. However, their accuracy for measuring gait stability, especially mediolateral parameters, is less reliable compared to optical motion capture.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Wearable Technology
- Gait Analysis
Background:
- Wearable inertial sensors offer portable gait measurement in real-world settings.
- Comparison of inertial sensor accuracy against optical motion capture for gait stability is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of an inertial sensor suit for assessing gait stability.
- To compare inertial sensor measurements with optical motion capture.
Main Methods:
- Healthy adults walked under various conditions (normal, eyes closed, wide step, tandem).
- Simultaneous motion capture using inertial measurement units (IMU) and optical systems.
- Gait stability assessed via margin of stability (MoS), Lyapunov exponents, and step variability.
Main Results:
- IMUs detected similar condition-based differences as optical capture for most measures.
- Mediolateral gait parameters (step width, MoS) showed lower accuracy with IMUs.
- Anterior-posterior parameters (step length, MoS) were measured more accurately.
Conclusions:
- Inertial sensors can identify changes in gait stability.
- Magnitude of gait stability measures may lack accuracy, particularly in the mediolateral direction.
