Abstract

Falls are the leading cause of disability in older adults with a third of adults over the age of 65 falling every year. Quantitative fall risk assessments using inertial measurement units and local dynamics stability (LDS) have shown that it is possible to identify at-risk persons. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature on how to calculate LDS and how much data is required for a reliable result. This study investigates the reliability and minimum required strides for 6 algorithm-normalization method combinations when computing LDS using young healthy and community dwelling elderly individuals. Participants wore an accelerometer at the lower lumbar while they walked for three minutes up and down a long hallway. This study concluded that the Rosenstein et al. algorithm was successfully and reliably able to differentiate between both populations using only 50 strides. It was also found normalizing the gait time series data by either truncating the data using a fixed number of strides or using a fixed number of strides and normalizing the entire time series to a fixed number of data points performed better when using the Rosenstein et al. algorithm.

Highlights

  • Falls are among the most common cause of decreased mobility and independence in older adults and rank as one of the most serious public health problems in the U.S, with costs exceeding $50 billion in 2015 (Ambrose, Paul, & Hausdorff, 2013; Bergen, Stevens, & Burns, 2016; Burns, Stevens, & Lee, 2016; Weisenfluh, Morrison, Fan, & Sen, 2012)

  • Calculating local dynamic stability (LDS) or the Lyapunov Exponent (LyE) during continuous walking has become a popular approach for quantifying gait stability (Mehdizadeh, 2018)

  • The minimum required strides for calculating the LyE are summarized in Table 2 by subject group

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Summary

Introduction

Falls are among the most common cause of decreased mobility and independence in older adults and rank as one of the most serious public health problems in the U.S, with costs exceeding $50 billion in 2015 (Ambrose, Paul, & Hausdorff, 2013; Bergen, Stevens, & Burns, 2016; Burns, Stevens, & Lee, 2016; Weisenfluh, Morrison, Fan, & Sen, 2012). Analogous to this reduction in independence is the inherent decline in gait stability that impairs balance and predisposes older adults to falls and fall-related injuries. Calculating local dynamic stability (LDS) or the Lyapunov Exponent (LyE) during continuous walking has become a popular approach for quantifying gait stability (Mehdizadeh, 2018)

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