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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
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3D Kinematic Gait Analysis for Preclinical Studies in Rodents
Published on: August 3, 2019
Accessible 2D video-based system for gait kinematic analysis: an inter-rater reliability study
Albert Puig-Diví1, Lluís Costa-Tutusaus1, Juanjo García-Gil1
1Blanquerna School of Health Sciences, Universitat Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain.
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
|August 4, 2026
Summary
Smartphone gait analysis offers reliable spatiotemporal metrics and proximal kinematics. However, temporal gait phases and distal joint angles show lower reliability, requiring cautious interpretation in multi-examiner or longitudinal studies.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Gait Analysis
- Digital Health
Background:
- Quantitative gait analysis is crucial for clinical decisions but limited by lab costs.
- Smartphone-based 2D video analysis offers a potential low-cost alternative.
- Inter-rater reliability of smartphone gait analysis, especially concerning examiner expertise, needs further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the inter-rater reliability of smartphone-based 2D gait analysis using Kinovea software.
- To evaluate the influence of examiner expertise on the reliability of spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters.
- To compare smartphone-derived gait metrics with established 3D reference values.
Main Methods:
- Observational study of 84 healthy adults performing level barefoot walking.
- Standardized smartphone video recording setup.
- Independent data extraction by four examiners (two experienced, two non-experienced) using Kinovea.
- Inter-rater reliability assessed using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots.
- Measurement error quantified by SEM and MDC95.
Main Results:
- Excellent reliability for global spatiotemporal parameters (walking speed, cadence, stride length) with minimal dependence on examiner expertise (ICC > 0.96).
- Poor to limited reliability for temporal gait phase variables (ICC ≈ 0.31-0.43), with better agreement among experienced raters.
- Joint kinematics showed variable reliability: hip (up to 0.88), knee (≈ 0.65-0.85), and ankle (down to 0.45), with a proximal-to-distal gradient.
- Bland-Altman analysis indicated negligible bias for spatiotemporal data but wider limits for kinematics.
Conclusions:
- Smartphone-based gait analysis with Kinovea provides reliable spatiotemporal metrics and moderate-to-good reliability for proximal joint kinematics in healthy adults.
- Temporal gait phase variables and distal joint angles exhibit lower reliability and should be interpreted with caution.
- This approach holds promise for accessible gait analysis but requires careful consideration of examiner experience and outcome variability in clinical applications.
