This protocol is used to evaluate spatial and temporal gait variables of neurological/orthopedic patients and older persons by means of a recently-introduced floor-based photocell system.
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Method Article
Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
Spatial and temporal characteristics of human walking are frequently evaluated to identify possible gait impairments, mainly in orthopedic and neurological patients1-4, but also in healthy older adults5,6. The quantitative gait analysis described in this protocol is performed with a recently-introduced photoelectric system (see Materials table) which has the potential to be used in the clinic because it is portable, easy to set up (no subject preparation is required before a test), and does not require maintenance and sensor calibration. The photoelectric system consists of series of high-density floor-based photoelectric cells with light-emitting and light-receiving diodes that are placed parallel to each other to create a corridor, and are oriented perpendicular to the line of progression7. The system simply detects interruptions in light signal, for instance due to the presence of feet within the recording area. Temporal gait parameters and 1D spatial coordinates of consecutive steps are subsequently calculated to provide common gait parameters such as step length, single limb support and walking velocity8, whose validity against a criterion instrument has recently been demonstrated7,9. The measurement procedures are very straightforward; a single patient can be tested in less than 5 min and a comprehensive report can be generated in less than 1 min.
Introduction
Walking is one of the most important physical activities in everyday life, and is a main determinant of the quality of life for elderly and patient populations who may present with gait deteriorations. Clinical evaluation of gait function is therefore important to reveal potential alterations induced by aging and/or neurological/orthopedic pathologies, but also to prove the functional benefits of a treatment. Different instruments have been developed for the quantitative assessment of gait parameters, e.g., force plates, video-based 3D motion analysis, body-mounted accelerometers10,11, and instrumented walkway mats or treadmills12. Howev....
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Protocol
The protocol follows the guidelines of the local human Ethics Committee in Zurich (KEK Zurich).
1. Hardware Installation (Figure 1)
- Use two 10-m sets of floor-based bars and place them parallel to each other (and to the line of progression) to create a corridor with an inter-set distance of approximately 1 m.
NOTE: This distance can be increased up to 8 m. Each bar has a length of 1 m and consists of 96 light diodes. - Make a distinction between light-transmitting (T) and light-receiving (R) units for the installation of the bars by placing the light-transmitting (T) units on the right side and the light-receiving (....
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Results
A recent study demonstrated the validity of the photoelectric system against a criterion instrument (a validated electronic walkway) for the assessment of spatiotemporal gait parameters in orthopedic patients and healthy elderly controls7. The same between-group differences in gait variables were detected by the two systems. Although concurrent validity was excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging between 0.933 and 0.999 (p < 0.001), a systematic bias (p < 0.001) was observed between t.......
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Discussion
The protocol presented here can be used to evaluate spatial and temporal gait parameters of patients (orthopedic, neurological, cardiorespiratory, etc.) and healthy older adults with a recently-introduced photoelectric system. The total length and width of the system can be modulated depending on the available space and budget. The estimated cost (in Europe) is approximately 2,800 USD per meter for a 10-meter system and the minimum recommended length is 3 meter for floor-based gait analysis. A new feature of th.......
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Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optogait system (10 meters) | Microgate, Bolzano, Italy | www.optogait.com | |
| Optogait software | www.optogait.com/Support/Downloads | ||
| Laptop | |||
| The Optogait system contains the following equipment: | |||
| 10 Light-transmitting (T) bars (1 as a first meter) | |||
| 10 Light-receiving (R) bars (1 as a first meter) | |||
| 18 Caps to connect the bars within a set (9 for T and 9 for R bars) and 2 special caps for the last T and R bar | |||
| 1 Camera with its tripod | |||
| 1 Cable for connecting the Optogait to the laptop | |||
| 1 Cable for connecting the camera to the laptop | |||
| 2 Power supplies (one for each set of bars) |
References
- Chow, J. W., Yablon, S. A., Horn, T. S., Stokic, D. S. Temporospatial characteristics of gait in patients with lower limb muscle hypertonia after traumatic brain injury. Brain. Inj. 24, 1575-1584 (2010).
- Esser, P., Dawes, H., Collett, J., Feltham, M. G., Howells, K.
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