Extraction and Application of Inertial Sensors-Based Kinematic Parameters in a Clinical Walk Test among Stroke Survivors

Abstract

A new framework for adopting inertial sensors in a clinical test was proposed and tested in this study. A self-assembled-and-coded, inertial sensor-based wearable system was validated by comparing it with a commercialized optical tracking apparatus. Twenty-five post-stroke patients were enrolled in a clinical walk test while wearing this validated system to simultaneously assess the affected lower extremities’ functional walk competency through extracted kinematic parameters. Their average walking speeds were correlated with various gait parameters, such as the ranges of motion of the individual joints along the sagittal plane and the low back motion. The validation results proved this developed system is precise and accurate. The average walking speeds showed a modest correlation with the range of motion of the hip (r = 0.33) and a moderate and negative correlation with the motion along the coronal plane of the low back (r = -0.55). Thus, this framework supports a new method to adopt wearable devices for clinical application. It also broadens the application of the clinical walk test as an integral assessment tool for assessing functional walking competency and gait parameters, which is feasible for rehabilitation canters to monitor post-stroke patients.