Development and validation of a low-cost, portable and wireless gait assessment tool

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Macleod, Catherine A and Conway, Bernard A and Allan, David B and Galen, Sujay S (2014) Development and validation of a low-cost, portable and wireless gait assessment tool. Medical Engineering and Physics, 36 (4). pp. 541-546. ISSN 1873-4030 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2013.11.011)

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Abstract

Performing gait analysis in a clinical setting can often be challenging due to time, cost and the availability of sophisticated three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis systems. This study has developed and tested a portable wireless gait assessment tool (wi-GAT) to address these challenges. Methods: Ten healthy volunteers participated in the study (age range 23–30 years). Spatio-temporal gait parameters were recorded simultaneously by the Vicon and the wi-GAT systems as each subject walked at their self-selected speed. Results: The stride length and duration, cadence, stance duration and walking speed recorded using the wi-GAT showed strong agreement with those same parameters recorded by the Vicon (ICC of 0.94–0.996). A difference between the systems in registering “toe off” resulted in less agreement (ICC of 0.299–0.847) in gait parameters such as %stance and %swing and DST. Discussion and conclusion: The study demonstrated good concurrent validity for the wi-GAT system. The wi-GAT has the potential to be a useful assessment tool for clinicians.

ORCID iDs

Macleod, Catherine A, Conway, Bernard A ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0069-0131, Allan, David B and Galen, Sujay S;
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