Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the performance of different kinematic features measured by foot-worn inertial sensors for detecting running gait temporal events (e.g., initial contact, terminal contact) in order to estimate inner-stride phases duration (e.g., contact time, flight time, swing time, step time). Forty-one healthy adults ran multiple trials on an instrumented treadmill while wearing one inertial measurement unit on the dorsum of each foot. Different algorithms for the detection of initial contact and terminal contact were proposed, evaluated and compared with a reference-threshold on the vertical ground reaction force. The minimum of the pitch angular velocity within the first and second half of a mid-swing to mid-swing cycle were identified as the most precise features for initial and terminal contact detection with an inter-trial median ± IQR precision of 2 ± 1 ms and 4 ± 2 ms respectively. Using these initial and terminal contact features, this study showed that the ground contact time, flight time, step and swing time can be estimated with an inter-trial median ± IQR bias less than 12 ± 10 ms and the a precision less than 4 ± 3 ms. Finally, this study showed that the running speed can significantly affect the biases of the estimations, suggesting that a speed-dependent correction should be applied to improve the system’s accuracy.
Highlights
In running, two temporal events need to be detected in order to extract the main temporal parameters of each step: cadence, contact time, flight phase duration, and swing phase duration
Trials with running speed at 8 km/h were removed due to the presence of steps with double support for some subjects that makes the detection of Initial contact (IC) and TO impossible with the ground reaction force (GRF) of the reference system
In this study we proposed, evaluated and compared how different algorithms based foot-worn inertial measurement units (IMUs) kinematic features performed in detecting IC and Terminal contact (TC) during running and in estimating the Development set (N = 59) errors when threshold at 7%body weight (BW) is used on vertical GRF
Summary
Two temporal events (initial contact or touchdown and terminal contact or toe-off) need to be detected in order to extract the main temporal parameters of each step: cadence, contact time, flight phase duration, and swing phase duration. The detection timing of IC and TC on the IMU-Based Temporal Analysis of Running vertical ground reaction force depends on the filtering method and on the detection threshold used (Cronin and Rumpf, 2014). Their lack of portability and their setup complexity restrict their use for in-laboratory experiments, which is a major drawback given the in-field nature of the running activity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
