Feasibility and usefulness of video-based markerless two-dimensional automated gait analysis, in providing objective quantification of gait and complementing the evaluation of gait in children with cerebral palsy.

Background: Gait analysis aids in evaluation, classification, and follow-up of gait pattern over time in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The analysis of sagittal plane joint kinematics is of special interest to assess flexed knee gait and ankle joint deviations that commonly progress with age and indicate deterioration of gait. Although most children with CP are ambulatory, no objective quantification of gait is currently included in any of the known international follow-up programs.

A wearable sensor and machine learning estimate step length in older adults and patients with neurological disorders.

Step length is an important diagnostic and prognostic measure of health and disease. Wearable devices can estimate step length continuously (e.g.

Digital Mobility Measures: A Window into Real-World Severity and Progression of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Real-world monitoring using wearable sensors has enormous potential for assessing disease severity and symptoms among persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). Many distinct features can be extracted, reflecting multiple mobility domains. However, it is unclear which digital measures are related to PD severity and are sensitive to disease progression.

A multi-sensor wearable system for the assessment of diseased gait in real-world conditions.

Accurately assessing people's gait, especially in real-world conditions and in case of impaired mobility, is still a challenge due to intrinsic and extrinsic factors resulting in gait complexity. To improve the estimation of gait-related digital mobility outcomes (DMOs) in real-world scenarios, this study presents a wearable multi-sensor system (INDIP), integrating complementary sensing approaches (two plantar pressure insoles, three inertial units and two distance sensors). The INDIP technical validity was assessed against stereophotogrammetry during a laboratory experimental protocol comprising structured tests (including continuous curvilinear and rectilinear walking and steps) and a simulation of daily-life activities (including intermittent gait and short walking bouts).

Base of Support, Step Length and Stride Width Estimation during Walking Using an Inertial and Infrared Wearable System.

The analysis of the stability of human gait may be effectively performed when estimates of the base of support are available. The base of support area is defined by the relative position of the feet when they are in contact with the ground and it is closely related to additional parameters such as step length and stride width. These parameters may be determined in the laboratory using either a stereophotogrammetric system or an instrumented mat.

Hand Use and Grasp Sensor System in Monitoring Infant Fine Motor Development.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a hand use and grasp sensor system in collecting and quantifying fine motor development longitudinally in an infant's home environment.

Design: Cohort study. Researchers made home visits monthly to participating families to collect grasp data from infants using a hand use and grasp sensor.

Motor-Cognitive Treadmill Training With Virtual Reality in Parkinson's Disease: The Effect of Training Duration.

Treadmill training with virtual reality (TT + VR) has been shown to improve gait performance and to reduce fall risk in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is no consensus on the optimal training duration. This study is a sub-study of the V-TIME randomized clinical trial (NCT01732653).

Extension of the Rigid-Constraint Method for the Heuristic Suboptimal Parameter Tuning to Ten Sensor Fusion Algorithms Using Inertial and Magnetic Sensing.

The orientation of a magneto-inertial measurement unit can be estimated using a sensor fusion algorithm (SFA). However, orientation accuracy is greatly affected by the choice of the SFA parameter values which represents one of the most critical steps. A commonly adopted approach is to fine-tune parameter values to minimize the difference between estimated and true orientation.

The Accuracy and Precision of Gait Spatio-Temporal Parameters Extracted from an Instrumented Sock during Treadmill and Overground Walking in Healthy Subjects and Patients with a Foot Impairment Secondary to Psoriatic Arthritis.

The objectives of this study were to assess the accuracy and precision of a system combining an IMU-instrumented sock and a validated algorithm for the estimation of the spatio-temporal parameters of gait. A total of 25 healthy participants (HP) and 21 patients with foot impairments secondary to psoriatic arthritis (PsA) performed treadmill walking at three different speeds and overground walking at a comfortable speed. HP performed the assessment over two sessions.

Detecting Sensitive Mobility Features for Parkinson's Disease Stages Via Machine Learning.

Background: It is not clear how specific gait measures reflect disease severity across the disease spectrum in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Objective: To identify the gait and mobility measures that are most sensitive and reflective of PD motor stages and determine the optimal sensor location in each disease stage.

Methods: Cross-sectional wearable-sensor records were collected in 332 patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr scale I-III) and 100 age-matched healthy controls.

Analysis of the Accuracy of Ten Algorithms for Orientation Estimation Using Inertial and Magnetic Sensing under Optimal Conditions: One Size Does Not Fit All.

The orientation of a magneto and inertial measurement unit (MIMU) is estimated by means of sensor fusion algorithms (SFAs) thus enabling human motion tracking. However, despite several SFAs implementations proposed over the last decades, there is still a lack of consensus about the best performing SFAs and their accuracy. As suggested by recent literature, the filter parameters play a central role in determining the orientation errors.

A Survey on the Use and Barriers of Surface Electromyography in Neurorehabilitation.

Historical, educational, and technical barriers have been reported to limit the use of surface electromyography (sEMG) in clinical neurorehabilitation settings. In an attempt to identify, review, rank, and interpret potential factors that may play a role in this scenario, we gathered information on (1) current use of sEMG and its clinical potential; (2) professional figures primarily dealing with sEMG; (3) educational aspects, and (4) possible barriers and reasons for its apparently limited use in neurorehabilitation. To this aim, an online 30-question survey was sent to 52 experts on sEMG from diverse standpoints, backgrounds, and countries.

Visuomotor Integration for Coupled Hand Movements in Healthy Subjects and Patients With Stroke.

Many studies have investigated the bilateral upper limb coordination during movements under different motor and visual conditions. Bilateral training has also been proposed as an effective rehabilitative protocol for patients with stroke. However, the factors influencing in-phase vs.

Do Patients With Parkinson's Disease With Freezing of Gait Respond Differently Than Those Without to Treadmill Training Augmented by Virtual Reality?

. People with Parkinson's disease and freezing of gait (FOG+) have more falls, postural instability and cognitive impairment compared with FOG-. .

A Canine Gait Analysis Protocol for Back Movement Assessment in German Shepherd Dogs.

Objective-To design and test a motion analysis protocol for the gait analysis of adult German Shepherd (GS) dogs with a focus in the analyses of their back movements. Animals-Eight clinically healthy adult large-sized GS dogs (age, 4 ± 1.3 years; weight, 38.

Falls Risk in Relation to Activity Exposure in High-Risk Older Adults.

Background: Physical activity is linked to many positive health outcomes, stimulating the development of exercise programs. However, many falls occur while walking and so promoting activity might paradoxically increase fall rates, causing injuries, and worse quality of life. The relationship between activity exposure and fall rates remains unclear.

Objective measures to investigate turning impairments and freezing of gait in people with Parkinson's disease.

Background: Turning is impaired in people with Parkinson's Disease (PD) and it is a common trigger for freezing of gait (FoG). Recent evidence suggests that people with PD who freeze (PD+FoG) have worse turning performance than those who don't have freezing (non-freezers, PD-FoG), and the freezing episodes are exacerbated by increasing the turn angular amplitude.

Research Question: We investigated the difference between turning 180° while walking versus turning 360° in place, in both single- and dual-task conditions, by means of objective measures in people with PD with and without FoG.

Isokinetic predictors of gait speed increase following high-intensity resistance training of the ankle dorsiflexors in people with multiple sclerosis: A pilot study.

Background: Maximal strength is a predictor of functional capacity for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), who frequently exhibit unilateral weakness of the ankle dorsiflexors. Aims of this study were to investigate the relationships between dorsiflexors' weakness and gait speed, the effects of high-intensity training of the affected dorsiflexors on gait performance and to identify isokinetic predictors of changes in gait speed in PwMs.

Methods: Twenty patients aged 45 (10.

Is every-day walking in older adults more analogous to dual-task walking or to usual walking? Elucidating the gaps between gait performance in the lab and during 24/7 monitoring.

Background: The traditional evaluation of gait in the laboratory during structured testing has provided important insights, but is limited by its "snapshot" character and observation in an unnatural environment. Wearables enable monitoring of gait in real-world environments over a week. Initial findings show that in-lab and real-world measures differ.

Associations between daily-living physical activity and laboratory-based assessments of motor severity in patients with falls and Parkinson's disease.

Introduction: Recent work suggests that wearables can augment conventional measures of Parkinson's disease (PD). We evaluated the relationship between conventional measures of disease and motor severity (e.g.

A wearable solution for accurate step detection based on the direct measurement of the inter-foot distance.

Accurate step detection is crucial for the estimation of gait spatio-temporal parameters. Although several step detection methods based on the use of inertial measurement units (IMUs) have been successfully proposed, they may not perform adequately when the foot is dragged while walking, when walking aids are used, or when walking at low speed. The aim of this study was to test an original step-detection method, the inter-foot distance step counter (IFOD), based on the direct measurement of the distance between feet.

Sardinian Folk Dance for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

Objectives: Among different exercise models proposed for individuals with Parkinson's disease (IwPD), the popularity of traditional forms of dance is increasing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Sardinian folk dance (Ballu Sardu, BS) on functional performance and motor and nonmotor symptoms in IwPD.

Design: Single-blind, randomized controlled pilot trial.

Knee joint sagittal plane movement in cerebral palsy: a comparative study of 2-dimensional markerless video and 3-dimensional gait analysis.

Background and purpose - Gait analysis is indicated in children with cerebral palsy (CP) to identify and quantify gait deviations. One particularly difficult-to-treat deviation, crouch gait, can progress in adolescence and ultimately limit the ability to ambulate. An objective quantitative assessment is essential to early identify progressive gait impairments in children with CP.

Estimation of spatio-temporal parameters of gait from magneto-inertial measurement units: multicenter validation among Parkinson, mildly cognitively impaired and healthy older adults.

Background: The use of miniaturized magneto-inertial measurement units (MIMUs) allows for an objective evaluation of gait and a quantitative assessment of clinical outcomes. Spatial and temporal parameters are generally recognized as key metrics for characterizing gait. Although several methods for their estimate have been proposed, a thorough error analysis across different pathologies, multiple clinical centers and on large sample size is still missing.