Objective gait assessment and quantified recurrence analysis using foot-worn wearable sensor for healthy individuals

Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin. 2024 Nov 30:1-17. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2024.2427113. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Wearable sensors allow mobility assessment required for better locomotion, neurological and musculoskeletal disorders, current limitations include unknown reliability and accuracy in real-life settings. This work determined the concurrent validity and repeatability of the proposed foot-worn gait evaluation system using objective gait features and recurrence quantification analysis from 52 participants. Its agreement with the commercially available OpenGo® system in the unrestricted outdoor environment is determined. Reported measures showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) between systems. Test-retest reliability showed that the mean of the second-third trial (T2-T3) is the most significant. Thus, an affordable system provides accurate measurement of gait ensuring its suitability even in small clinical-settings.

Keywords: Gait; foot-worn; recurrence quantification analysis; validation; wearable sensors.