Accuracy and repeatability of two methods of gait analysis - GaitRite™ und Mobility Lab™ - in subjects with cerebellar ataxia.
Instrumental gait analysis is increasingly recognized as a useful tool for the evaluation of movement disorders. The various assessment devices available to date have mostly been evaluated in healthy populations only. We aimed to explore whether reliability and validity seen in healthy subjects can also be assumed in subjects with cerebellar ataxic gait. Gait was recorded simultaneously with two devices - a sensor-embedded walkway and an inertial sensor based system - to explore test accuracy in two groups of subjects: one with mild to moderate cerebellar ataxia due to a subtype of autosomal-dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder (SCA14), the other were healthy subjects matched for age and height (CTR). Test precision was assessed by retest within session for each device. In conclusion, accuracy and repeatability of gait measurements were not compromised by ataxic gait disorder. The accuracy of spatial measures was speed-dependent and a direct comparison of stride length from both devices will be most reliably made at comfortable speed. Measures of stride variability had low agreement between methods in CTR and at retest in both groups. However, the marked increase of stride variability in ataxia outweighs the observed amount of imprecision.
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany; NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charite Platz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: tanja.schmitz-huebsch@charite.de.
Tanja
T
Schmitz-Hübsch
NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charite Platz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Alexander U
AU
Brandt
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
Caspar
C
Pfueller
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
Leonora
L
Zange
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
Adrian
A
Seidel
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany; NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charite Platz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Andrea A
AA
Kühn
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany; NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charite Platz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Friedemann
F
Paul
Research Centre Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), 52425 Jülich, Germany; Department of Neurology, University Hospital Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105 Bonn, Germany.
Martina
M
Minnerop
Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
Sarah
S
Doss
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002524:Cerebellar Ataxia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software
Ataxia; Gait assessment; Reliability; Validity