Abstract
This study aimed to create an evidence base for detection of stance-phase timings from motion capture in horses. The objective was to compare the accuracy (bias) and precision (SD) for five published algorithms for the detection of hoof-on and hoof-off using force plates as the reference standard.Six horses were walked and trotted over eight force plates surrounded by a synchronised 12-camera infrared motion capture system. The five algorithms (A–E) were based on: (A) horizontal velocity of the hoof; (B) Fetlock angle and horizontal hoof velocity; (C) horizontal displacement of the hoof relative to the centre of mass; (D) horizontal velocity of the hoof relative to the Centre of Mass and; (E) vertical acceleration of the hoof. A total of 240 stance phases in walk and 240 stance phases in trot were included in the assessment. Method D provided the most accurate and precise results in walk for stance phase duration with a bias of 4.1% for front limbs and 4.8% for hind limbs. For trot we derived a combination of method A for hoof-on and method E for hoof-off resulting in a bias of −6.2% of stance in the front limbs and method B for the hind limbs with a bias of 3.8% of stance phase duration.We conclude that motion capture yields accurate and precise detection of gait events for horses walking and trotting over ground and the results emphasise a need for different algorithms for front limbs versus hind limbs in trot.
Highlights
Objective assessment of gait is an efficacious clinical tool in human medicine (Wren et al, 2011) and is rapidly evolving in veterinary medicine as a supplement to subjective assessment of lameness (Gillette and Angle, 2008; Keegan, 2007)
A total of 14 outlier stance phases were removed for walk and 20 outlier stance phases were removed for trot
Algorithm D had the best precision in all gait events except for hind limb hoof-on
Summary
Objective assessment of gait is an efficacious clinical tool in human medicine (Wren et al, 2011) and is rapidly evolving in veterinary medicine as a supplement to subjective assessment of lameness (Gillette and Angle, 2008; Keegan, 2007). Motion capture and force plates have the potential to aid assessment of deficits in neuro-motor control on a spinal or supraspinal level because spatial and temporal characteristics are primarily controlled through the spinal and supra-spinal neural pathways (Martinez et al, 2012; Rossignol and Frigon, 2011). Classification of movement as normal, or abnormal, can be based on a combination of subjective clinical examination and objective analysis of gait (Keegan et al, 2012; Lord et al, 2013; Wren et al, 2011).
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