Gait and Foot Clearance Parameters Obtained Using Shoe-Worn Inertial Sensors in a Large-Population Sample of Older Adults

Sensors

Farzin Dadashi²  Benoit Mariani²  Stephane Rochat³  Christophe J. Büla³  Brigitte Santos-Eggimann¹ 

[1] Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), University of Lausanne Medical Center, Lausanne 1010, Switzerland; E-Mail:;Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne 1015, Switzerland; E-Mail:;Service of Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Rehabilitation, University of Lausanne Medical Center, Epalinges 1066, Switzerland; E-Mails:

关键词: gait;    elderly;    foot clearance;    ambulatory system;    sensor fusion;    reference data;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s140100443

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In order to distinguish dysfunctional gait, clinicians require a measure of reference gait parameters for each population. This study provided normative values for widely used parameters in more than 1,400 able-bodied adults over the age of 65. We also measured the foot clearance parameters (i.e., height of the foot above ground during swing phase) that are crucial to understand the complex relationship between gait and falls as well as obstacle negotiation strategies. We used a shoe-worn inertial sensor on each foot and previously validated algorithms to extract the gait parameters during 20 m walking trials in a corridor at a self-selected pace. We investigated the difference of the gait parameters between male and female participants by considering the effect of age and height factors. Besides; we examined the inter-relation of the clearance parameters with the gait speed. The sample size and breadth of gait parameters provided in this study offer a unique reference resource for the researchers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.