Thigh-Worn Sensor for Measuring Initial and Final Contact During Gait in a Mobility Impaired Population: Validation...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Science
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Physical activity monitors can personalize gait rehabilitation after stroke by detecting gait events.
• Detecting gait events in impaired populations using standard methods is challenging.
• The Teager-Kaiser energy operator (TKEO) shows promise for detecting gait events from acceleration signals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the criterion validity of TKEO for gait event detection using thigh-mounted physical activity monitors.
• To compare TKEO-derived spatiotemporal gait metrics with 3D motion capture data in chronic stroke survivors.

Main Methods:

• Thirteen chronic stroke survivors wore ActivPAL 4+ (AP4) sensors on their thighs and motion capture markers.
• Participants performed two 10m walks at a comfortable pace.
• The Teager-Kaiser energy operator (TKEO) processed acceleration data to extract gait events and stance durations.

Main Results:

• There was very good agreement between AP4 sensor data and motion capture for stance duration.
• The intraclass correlation coefficient for stance duration was 0.79.

Conclusions:

• The TKEO method using AP4 data provides stance durations comparable to laboratory systems in chronic stroke survivors.
• Accurate stance duration from wearable sensors can facilitate gait training beyond clinical environments.
• Future research should validate these findings in a larger stroke survivor cohort.