Article

The measurement of gait parameters normally requires motion tracking systems
combined with force plates, which limits the measurement to laboratory settings.
In some recent studies, the possibility of using the portable, low cost, and
marker-less Microsoft Kinect sensor to measure gait parameters on over-ground
walking has been examined.
The current study further examined the accuracy level
of the Kinect sensor for assessment of various gait parameters during treadmill
walking under different walking speeds. Twenty healthy participants walked on the
treadmill and their full body kinematics data were measured by a Kinect sensor
and a motion tracking system, concurrently. Spatiotemporal gait parameters and
knee and hip joint angles were extracted from the two devices and were compared.
The results showed that the accuracy levels when using the Kinect sensor varied
across the gait parameters. Average heel strike frame errors were 0.18 and 0.30
frames for the right and left foot, respectively, while average toe off frame
errors were -2.25 and -2.61 frames, respectively, across all participants and all
walking speeds. The temporal gait parameters based purely on heel strike have
less error than the temporal gait parameters based on toe off.
The Kinect sensor
can follow the trend of the joint trajectories for the knee and hip joints,
though there was substantial error in magnitudes. The walking speed was also
found to significantly affect the identified timing of toe off.
The results of
the study suggest that the Kinect sensor may be used as an alternative device to
measure some gait parameters for treadmill walking, depending on the desired
accuracy level.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS