Development of a Gait Analysis Application for Assessing Upper and Lower Limb Movements to Detect Pathological Gait

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Neurology
• Gait Analysis

Background:

• Pathological gait is a key symptom in Hakim's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and cervical myelopathy (CM).
• Subjective evaluations of gait abnormalities in these conditions lack quantitative precision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To objectively quantify upper and lower limb movement characteristics during pathological gait.
• To compare gait patterns among patients with HD, PD, CM, and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 1491 circular walking tests (1m diameter) using a 3D Pose Tracker.
• Data collected from 122 HD, 12 PD, 93 CM patients, and 200 healthy volunteers.
• Calculation of 2D joint angle ranges (sagittal plane) and limb shifts (axial plane).

Main Results:

• Reduced hip and knee range of motion in HD and PD compared to CM and healthy controls.
• Distinct patterns of shoulder and elbow range of motion observed across groups.
• Increased outward leg shift in HD and PD.
• Strong correlation found between hip/elbow joint ranges and upper/lower limb movements.

Conclusions:

• Quantitative analysis reveals distinct gait characteristics in HD, PD, and CM.
• HD and PD patients show significantly reduced limb swing amplitudes.
• Limb movements are interconnected, with specific correlations identified between upper and lower body motion.