Comparability between wearable inertial sensors and an electronic walkway for spatiotemporal and relative phase data in young children aged 6-11 years

K Carroll; R A Kennedy; V Koutoulas; U Werake; M Bui; C M Kraan

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2024.04.003

Comparability between wearable inertial sensors and an electronic walkway for spatiotemporal and relative phase data in young children aged 6-11 years

Gait Posture. 2024 Apr 13:111:30-36. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2024.04.003. Online ahead of print.

Authors

K Carroll¹, R A Kennedy², V Koutoulas³, U Werake⁴, M Bui⁵, C M Kraan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurology, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Neurosciences, Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Children's Research Institutee, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Neurology, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Diagnosis and Development, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Diagnosis and Development, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: claudine.kraan@mcri.edu.au.

PMID: 38615566
DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2024.04.003

Abstract

Background: Approaches to gait analysis are evolving rapidly and now include a wide range of options: from e-patches to video platforms to wearable inertial measurement unit systems. Newer options for gait analysis are generally more inclusive for the assessment of children, more cost effective and easier to administer. However, there is limited data on the comparability of newer systems with more established traditional approaches in young children.

Research question: To determine comparability between the Physilog®5 wearable inertial sensor and GAITRite® electronic walkway for spatiotemporal (stride length, time and velocity, cadence) and relative phase (double support time, stance, swing, loading, foot flat and push off) data in young children.

Methods: A total 34 typically developing participants (41% female) aged 6-11 years old median age 8.99 years old (interquartile range 2.83) were assessed walking at self-selected speed over the GAITRite® electronic walkway while concurrently wearing shoe-attached Physilog®5 IMU sensors. Level of agreement was analysed by Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), Bland-Altman plots and 95% limit of agreement. Systematic bias was assessed using 95% confidence interval of the mean difference.

Results: Excellent to almost perfect agreement was observed between systems for spatiotemporal metrics: cadence (CCC=0.996), stride length (CCC=0.993), stride time (CCC=0.996), stride velocity (CCC=0.988). The relative phase metrics adjusted for stride velocity showed improved comparability when compared to the unadjusted metrics: swing adjusted (adj) (CCC=0.635); stance adj (CCC: 0.879); loading adj: (CCC=0.626).

Significance: Spatiotemporal metrics are highly compatible across GAITRite® electronic walkway and Physilog®5 IMU systems in young children. Relative phase metrics were somewhat compatible between systems when adjusted for stride velocity.

Keywords: Children; GAITRite®; Gait analysis; Inertial sensors; Physilog®5; Wearable.