Article

Trunk mobility impairment can cause balance, postural and gait challenges during
overground level walking in patients with different pathologies. Assessment of
the rotations of the trunk during walking with an abnormal gait can provide
knowledge required for a better understanding of the nature of the motor control
deficit and support decision-making in patient rehabilitation. A method based on
the use of a weighted Fourier linear combiner (WFLC) adaptive filter is proposed
in this paper for the estimation of lower trunk angles during pathological
overground level walking, using angular velocities measured at the lower trunk
level with a wearable inertial sensor. This method was validated for a group of
24 patients, 13 with hemiplegia and 11 with Parkinson's disease, by comparing the
estimated angles to those simultaneously obtained from a stereophotogrammetric
system. Analysis of the root mean square error, correlation coefficient and
offset results revealed that the WFLC approach is highly accurate in estimating
lateral and frontal bending and axial rotations of the lower trunk in
pathological level walking.
CI - Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS