using-real-time-locating-system-to-measure-walking-activity

Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults

A real-time locating system (RTLS) can be used to track the walking activity of institutionalized older adults in long-term care who are at risk for ...

University of Delaware

With the recent technological advancements of prosthetic lower limbs, there is currently a great desire to objectively evaluate existing prostheses. Using a novel biomechanical analysis, the purpose of this case study was to compare the mechanical energy profiles of anatomical and two disparate prostheses: a passive prosthesis and an active prosthesis.

Comparison of mechanical energy profiles of passive and active below-knee prostheses: a case study.

Segmental power is used in human movement analyses to indicate the source and net rate of energy transfer between the rigid bodies of biomechanical models. Segmental power calculations are performed using segment endpoint dynamics (kinetic method). A theoretically equivalent method is to measure the rate of change in a segment's mechanical energy state (kinematic method). However, these two methods have not produced experimentally equivalent results for segments proximal to the foot, with the difference in methods deemed the "power imbalance." In a 6 degree-of-freedom model, segments move independently, resulting in relative segment endpoint displacement and non-equivalent segment endpoint velocities at a joint. In the kinetic method, a segment's distal end translational velocity may be defined either at the anatomical end of the segment or at the location of the joint center (defined here as the proximal end of the adjacent distal segment). Our mathematical derivations revealed the power imbalance between the kinetic method using the anatomical definition and the kinematic method can be explained by power due to relative segment endpoint displacement. In this study, we tested this analytical prediction through experimental gait data from nine healthy subjects walking at a typical speed. The average absolute segmental power imbalance was reduced from 0.023 to 0.046 W/kg using the anatomical definition to ≤0.001 W/kg using the joint center definition in the kinetic method (95.56-98.39% reduction). Power due to relative segment endpoint displacement in segmental power analyses is substantial and should be considered in analyzing energetic flow into and between segments.

A mathematical analysis to address the 6 degree-of-freedom segmental power imbalance.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of cognitive impairment (CI), gait quality, and balance ability on walking distance and speed in an assisted living facility.

Article	Year
Comparison of mechanical energy profiles of passive and active below-knee prostheses: a case study. Prosthetics and orthotics international\| PubMed ID: 24418933	2015
A mathematical analysis to address the 6 degree-of-freedom segmental power imbalance. Journal of biomechanics\| PubMed ID: 29191634	2018
Balance ability and cognitive impairment influence sustained walking in an assisted living facility. Archives of gerontology and geriatrics\| PubMed ID: 29753298	2018

Steven J. Stanhope

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