Validation of a commercial inertial sensor system for spatiotemporal gait measurements in children.
Although inertial sensor systems are becoming a popular tool for gait analysis in both healthy and pathological adult populations, there are currently no data on the validity of these systems for use with children. The purpose of this study was to validate spatiotemporal data from a commercial inertial sensor system (MobilityLab) in typically-developing children. Data from 10 children (5 males; 3.0-8.3 years, mean=5.1) were collected simultaneously from MobilityLab and 3D motion capture during gait at self-selected and fast walking speeds. Spatiotemporal parameters were compared between the two methods using a Bland-Altman method. The results indicate that, while the temporal gait measurements were similar between the two systems, MobilityLab demonstrated a consistent bias with respect to measurement of the spatial data (stride length). This error is likely due to differences in relative leg length and gait characteristics in children compared to the MobilityLab adult reference population used to develop the stride length algorithm. A regression-based equation was developed based on the current data to correct the MobilityLab stride length output. The correction was based on leg length, stride time, and shank range-of-motion, each of which were independently associated with stride length. Once the correction was applied, all of the spatiotemporal parameters evaluated showed good agreement. The results of this study indicate that MobilityLab is a valid tool for gait analysis in typically-developing children. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of this system for use in children suffering from pathologies that impact gait mechanics.
College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B2, Canada. Electronic address: joel.lanovaz@usask.ca.
Joel L
JL
Lanovaz
College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B2, Canada.
Alison R
AR
Oates
College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B2, Canada.
Tanner T
TT
Treen
College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, 87 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B2, Canada.
Janelle
J
Unger
SCI Mobility Lab., Lyndhurst Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute-University Health Network, 520 Sutherland Drive, Toronto, Ontario M4G 3V9, Canada; Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; School of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Kristin E
KE
Musselman
D000465:Algorithms; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009038:Motion; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis
3D motion capture; Children; Gait; Inertial sensor; Spatiotemporal; Validation