A Hardware-Software Package for Analyzing the Gait of Patients with Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Abstract

This paper offers a new method for analyzing the gait of patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus, as well as several other pathological diseases accompanied by gait disorders, in particular Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. To this end, using the ultrasonic range finder, a gressogram is recorded: the dependence of the distance traveled by the patient on time and its derivative, which is analyzed by means of the Fourier transform. The performed analysis makes it possible to determine such significant gait parameters as the total time spent for travelling a distance, the total number of steps, the average step length, the average, minimum, and maximum values of march velocity, and the average time taken per step. Comparison of gait parameters before and after the tap test makes it possible to evaluate the prospects of ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery in a patient with normal pressure hydrocephalus, while their determination after surgery allows one to conclude its effectiveness. In the case of Parkinson’s disease, positive dynamics in gait estimation by the described method against the background of taking Levodopa will allow carrying out differential diagnostics of this disease from normal pressure hydrocephalus. This work shows that parameters such as average velocity, amplitude of spread of instantaneous velocities at the march distance, time spent per step and, as a consequence, average step length are sensitive to the condition of a patient with normal pressure hydrocephalus. An important tool for analysis, as it turned out, are rhythmograms, which make it possible to detect gait rhythm abnormalities. The developed device in combination with a set of algorithms can be used to create a hardware-software package for collecting telemetric information for express analysis of gait.