Comparison of Handheld Video Camera and GAITRite® Measurement of Gait Impairment in People with Early Stage Parkinson's Disease: A Pilot Study

Abstract

In this pilot study, we investigated the validity and reliability of low-cost handheld video camera recordings for measuring gait in people with early stage Parkinson's disease (PD). Five participants with PD, Hoehn & Yahr stage I-II, mean age 66.2 years and five healthy age-matched controls were recruited. Participants walked across a GAITRite® electronic walkway at self-selected pace while video was simultaneously recorded. Data from both systems were analyzed and compared. Step time variability, measured from handheld video recordings, revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) differences between the gait of early stage PD and controls. Concurrent validity between video analyses and GAITRite were good (ICC(2,1) ≥ 0.86) for mean step time and mean dual support duration. However, the inter-assessor reliability for the video analysis was poor for step time variability (ICC(2,1) = 0.18). More reliable measurement of step time variability may require a system to measure extended periods of walking. Further research involving longer walks and more participants with higher stages of PD is required to investigate if step time variability can be measured with acceptable reliability using video recordings. If this could be demonstrated, this simple technology could be adapted to run on a tablet or smart phone, providing low cost gait assessments without the need for specialized equipment and expensive infrastructure.