title: Toward a highly accurate ambulatory system for clinical gait analysis via UWB radios.
abstract: In this paper, we propose and investigate a low-cost and low-complexity wireless ambulatory human locomotion tracking system that provides a high ranging accuracy (intersensor distance) suitable for the assessment of clinical gait analysis using wearable ultra wideband (UWB) transceivers. The system design and transceiver performance are presented in additive-white-gaussian noise and realistic channels, using industry accepted channel models for body area networks. The proposed system is theoretically capable of providing a ranging accuracy of 0.11 cm error at distances equivalent to interarker distances, at an 18 dB SNR in realistic on-body UWB channels. Based on real measurements, it provides the target ranging accuracy at an SNR = 20 dB. The achievable accuracy is ten times better than the accuracy reported in the literature for the intermarker-distance measurement. This makes it suitable for use in clinical gait analysis, and for the characterization and assessment of unstable mobility diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at Alexandria (VT-MENA), Arab Academy for Science and Technology, Alexandria 1029, Egypt. hshaban@vt.edu
authors.forename: Heba A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Shaban
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abou el-Nasr
authors.forename: R Michael
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Buehrer
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D004581:Electronics; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D016011:Normal Distribution; D011845:Radio; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*