Higher Walking Speed Research Articles

Assessment of Social Vulnerability in the Evacuation Process from Mount Merapi: Focusing on People’s Behavior and Mutual Assistance

In Merapi volcano mitigation, the cooperation within/between the local communities is a key strategy for effective evacuation. In the “sister village” scenario, the meeting area and shelter have been coordinated, but people’s behavior has not been fully considered yet in the vulnerability assessment and government’s contingency plan. The purpose of this study is to assess the people’s behavior, mutual assistance, and social vulnerability index of pedestrian evacuation in four affected regencies. First, we measured the walking speed directly, conducted interviews with stakeholders, and focus group discussions with local communities. We used the multicriteria method and focused on two factors, social and age structure (young, vulnerable, and mutual assistance between them), and risk perception (work, rain, night, alert, and destination). The index reflects the distribution of actual walking speed, mutual assistance, and the government’s plan. The result showed that mutual assistance groups have a higher walking speed than vulnerable people but lower than young people. Mutual assistance coordination is crucial to support vulnerable to effective travel time. The social and age structure of the social vulnerability index has a stronger risk influence than the perception factor in the evacuation process. However, these two factors have a minor impact on social vulnerability to the total population.

Gait Patterns and Mood in Everyday Life: A Comparison Between Depressed Patients and Non-depressed Controls

BackgroundPrevious laboratory findings suggest deviant gait characteristics in depressed individuals (i.e., reduced walking speed and vertical up-and-down movements, larger lateral swaying movements, slumped posture). However, since most studies to date assessed gait in the laboratory, it is largely an open question whether this association also holds in more naturalistic, everyday life settings. Thus, within the current study we (1) aimed at replicating these results in an everyday life and (2) investigated whether gait characteristics could predict change in current mood.MethodsWe recruited a sample of patients (n = 35) suffering from major depressive disorder and a sample of age and gender matched non-depressed controls (n = 36). During a 2-day assessment we continuously recorded gait patterns, general movement intensity and repetitively assessed the participant’s current mood.ResultsWe replicated previous laboratory results and found that patients as compared to non-depressed controls showed reduced walking speed and reduced vertical up-and-down movements, as well as a slumped posture during everyday life episodes of walking. Moreover, independent of clinical diagnoses, higher walking speed, and more vertical up-and-down movements significantly predicted more subsequent positive mood, while changes in mood did not predict subsequent changes in gait patterns.ConclusionIn sum, our results support expectations that embodiment (i.e., the relationship between bodily expression of emotion and emotion processing itself) in depression is also observable in naturalistic settings, and that depression is bodily manifested in the way people walk. The data further suggest that motor displays affect mood in everyday life.

The relationship between physical performance and quality of life and the level of physical activity among the elderly.

BACKGROUND:Loss of physical function during the process of aging might affect the quality of life. Physical function assessment tests predicts outcomes such as falls, institutionalization, and death. Studies assessing the association of physical function with quality of life and physical activity level of elderly population in India is scarce. Hence we aimed to assess the physical function of community dwelling older adults and to determine its association with physical activity levels and quality of life.MATERIALS AND METHODS:This was a cross-sectional analytical study. 89 community dwelling older adults between 60 and 80 years of age were recruited. Physical function was assessed by standing balance, walking speed, and grip strength. Quality of life was assessed by WHO QOL BREF questionnaire and physical activity level was assessed by International Physical activity Questionnaire.RESULTS:Standing balance was reduced in 24% and walking speed was decreased in 33% of the participants. Males had higher walking speed, and grip strength. Quality of life was better among males. Standing balance, walking speed and grip strength was significantly higher in moderate – heavy activity levels. There was positive correlation between physical function and quality of life. There was also positive correlation between physical activity level and quality of life.CONCLUSION:Physical function, quality of life and physical activity level were decreased. Males had better physical function and quality of life. Physically active individuals had better physical function and quality of life. Early detection of decreased physical function and increase in physical activity level could result in better quality of life among elderly.

Swing Leg Trajectory Design to Realize High-speed Heel-Strike and Toe-Off Walking

Swing Leg Trajectory Design to Realize High-speed Heel-Strike and Toe-Off Walking

A PCA-Based Method to Select the Number and the Body Location of Piezoresistive Sensors in a Wearable System for Respiratory Monitoring

This work aims at selecting the number and the body location of piezoresistive sensors to instrument wearable systems for respiratory rate (RR) estimation. We tested a novel method based on Principal Component Analysis on 10 healthy male subjects, who were asked to perform six trials on a treadmill (at rest, during walking and low speed running). We monitored RR using both a smart garment composed of six piezoresistive sensors and a flowmeter, used as reference signal. On the basis of the results, we propose the following guidelines: i) breathing assessment at rest requires one sensor, placed on the lower thorax; ii) low speed walking assessment requires three sensors, placed on upper thorax, lower thorax and abdomen; iii) high speed walking and running assessment requires a four-sensor configuration (one sensor placed on the upper thorax, one on the lower thorax and two on the abdomen); iv) an effective assessment can be performed at all speeds using the above-mentioned four-sensor configuration, denoted as General Purpose Configuration.

Improving walking speed reduces hospitalization costs in outpatients with cardiovascular disease. An analysis based on a multistrata non-parametric test

BackgroundTo assess the association between walking speed (WS) and its improvement on hospitalization rates and costs in outpatients with cardiovascular disease.MethodsSix hundred forty-nine patients participating in an exercise-based secondary prevention program were studied. Patients were divided at baseline into two groups characterized by low and high WS based on the average WS maintained during a moderate 1-km treadmill-walking test. WS and other covariates were grouped into three domains (demographic factors, medical history and risk factors), and used to estimate a propensity score, in order to create homogeneous groups of patients. All-cause hospitalization was assessed 3 years after baseline as a function of WS. Hospitalization and related costs were also assessed during the fourth-to-sixth years after enrollment. To test whether the hospitalization costs were related to changes in WS after 36 months, a multistrata permutation test was performed by combining within strata partial tests.ResultsThe results support the hypothesis that hospitalization costs are significantly reduced in accordance with an improvement in WS. This effect is most evident among older patients, overweight or obese, smokers, and those without a history of coronary artery bypass surgery.ConclusionsThe present study supports growing evidence of an inverse association between WS, risk of hospitalization and consequent health-care costs. The joint use of propensity score and multistrata permutation approaches represent a flexible and robust testing method which avoids the possible effects of several confounding factors typical of these studies.

Increased Attentional Focus On Walking By Older Adults Limits Maximum Speed And Dynamic Stability Control

Older adults with lower balance confidence demonstrate a reduced willingness to experience instability as the task of walking becomes more challenging. The specific reason why is not known. PURPOSE: To investigate the extent to which performance of a challenging walking task relates to the attentional requirements of walking. METHODS: Fourteen older participants were asked to walk on a treadmill at a range of speeds from 0.4 m/s, increasing 0.2 m/s, up to either 2.0 m/s or a speed they chose to stop. All walking trials included 60 steps. Kinematic data was collected and a measure of margin of stability in the anterior direction at heel strike (MOSAP) was quantified. The timed up and go (TUG) and timed up and go dual task (TUGdual) were performed. An automaticity index (TUG/TUGdual *100) was calculated to evaluate the attentional resources. Individuals were grouped (n=7 in each group) based on whether they could (complete, 70±2.44 years) or could not (incomplete, 67±2.43 years) complete all walking trials. Comparisons between groups were made with Independent T-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations were detected with Spearman rank correlation. RESULTS: Significant differences were detected in the maximum speeds achieved between groups as well as the range of gait stability (p<0.05). Those that could not complete all speeds had a lower automaticity score compared to other group (p=0.019). The fastest speed attempted was correlated with an average of MOSAP (rho=-0.93, p<0.001) and the automaticity index (rho=0.61, p=0.022). The average of MOSAP and the automatic gait index were significantly correlated (rho=-0.71, p=0.004, Fig 1). CONCLUSION: Older adults with lower automaticity of gait appeared to choose to stop limit walking trials before they became dynamically unstable, which may relate with the increased attentional demand required to maintain dynamic stability at higher walking speeds. This should be considered for an assessment to identify stability problems.

Control of ATRIAS in three dimensions: Walking as a forced-oscillation problem

In this article, we present a new controller for stable and robust walking control of ATRIAS, an underactuated bipedal robot designed based on the spring-loaded inverted pendulum (SLIP) model. We propose a forced-oscillation scheme for control of vertical motion, which we prove to be stable and contractive. Moreover, we prove that, through some mild assumptions, the dynamics of the system can be written in a hierarchical form that decouples the stability analyses of the horizontal and vertical directions. We leverage these properties to find a stabilizing class of functions for foot placement. The torso control is also proved to be decoupled using singular perturbation theory and is stabilized through a feedback linearization controller. We also take advantage of the proposed framework’s flexibility and extend it to include a new reflex-based uneven-terrain walking control scheme. We test the controller for various desired walking speeds (0 to 2.5 m/s), for stepping up and down unexpected obstacles (15 cm), and for high-speed walking on a random uneven terrain (up to 10 cm of step-ups and step-downs and up to 1.8 m/s). The results show successful performance of the controller and its stability and robustness against various perturbations.

Activity and participation in stroke survivors in a low-income setting: A cross-sectional study.

To describe patients' activity and participation levels and to compare these levels across different groups of stroke survivors according to their walking speed (WS). In this cross-sectional study, 67 stroke survivors (43 men, mean age: 58.4 ± 12.9 years old) were assessed using the stroke impairment assessment set (SIAS), ACTIVLIM-Stroke, 10-m walk test (10MWT), 6-min walk test (6MWT) and Reintegration to Normal Living Index (RNLI). The sample was afterwards split into three WS sub-groups (<0.4 m/s, 0.4-0.8 m/s and >0.8 m/s) based on 10MWT scores. ACTIVLIM-Stroke, 10MWT and 6MWT mean scores (±SD) were, respectively, 69.4 ± 20.2%, 0.9 ± 0.6 m/s and 282.1 ± 182 m. RNLI median score (range) was 5 (0-20). Sub-group analyses indicated that 26.9% (n = 18) obtained WS < 0.4 m/s, 13.4% (n = 9) WS between 0.4 and 0.8 m/s, and 59.7% (n = 40) WS > 0.8 m/s. Significant differences (p < .001) were found between WS sub-groups for both activity and participation. Stroke survivors in Kinshasa presented a good performance for basic-activities of daily life (basic-ADLs). However, some of them still had difficulties with some community activities. Differences in WS seemed to discriminate well stroke survivors in terms of activity and participation, since the higher WS, the more they performed in basic-ADLs, walking distance and participation, and inversely.

Hip resurfacing generates a more physiological gait than total hip replacement: A case-control study

BackgroundRestoration of the constitutional joint anatomy after hip replacement favours physiological peri-articular soft-tissue tension and kinematics, and is likely to be functionally beneficial. Hip resurfacing (HR) and conventional total hip replacement (THR) are two different options for replacing degenerated hips, and are likely to result in different anatomical reconstruction. We initiated this study to investigate the differences in gait performance between these two prosthetic options, and aimed to answer the following questions: (1) does HR result in better restoration of the frontal hip anatomical parameters, (2) and generate a more physiological gait compared to THR? (3) Does the quality of the anatomical restoration after THR influence gait performance? HypothesesOur hypothesis was that a better anatomical restoration using HR versus THR would produce more physiological (symmetric) gait. MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 52 patients who had unilateral primary osteoarthritis successfully treated by replacement (40 THRs and 12 HRs). Hip anatomical parameters were measured on standing pelvic radiographs on both the prosthetic and the contralateral healthy hips. Patients undertook gait assessment under both normal and stress conditions at a mean follow-up of 14 months (7 to 16 months). Gait performances were compared between HR and THR, and the relationship between gait performances and quality of frontal anatomical restoration (estimated on radiograph) were assessed. ResultsCompared to the native contralateral side, the HR procedure tended to decrease all independent anatomical radiographic parameters with the exception of the vertical centre of rotation offset, whilst the THR procedure tended to increase them; the difference between HR and THR was only statistically significant for femoral offset and global horizontal offset (increased after THR while reduced after HR). Only 50% of THR and 25% of HR procedures closely anatomically (±15%) recreated both global horizontal offset and global vertical offset. Under normal conditions (normal walking speed and flat ramp), the gait was fairly symmetric for both the HR and the THR patients with a symmetry index of 0.62% and 3.14% respectively. At high walking speed (stress conditions), the symmetry index degraded for both groups, but the gait remained more symmetric in the HR group (2.09%), compared to the THR group (5.74%); nevertheless, the difference remained not statistically significant (p=0.159). We were unable to detect any significant relationship between gait performances and radiographically measured hip frontal anatomical parameters. Discussion/conclusionsHR procedure is more consistent than conventional THR in generating a more physiological gait under stress conditions. Radiographic estimation of the quality of the frontal anatomical hip restoration is of poor value to predict gait performances of THR patients. Level of evidenceIII – retrospective case-control study with prospective data collection.

Garment size effect of thermal protective clothing on global and local evaporative cooling of walking manikin in a hot environment.

Evaporative cooling is the critical heat dissipation mechanism for working individuals wearing thermal protective clothing in hot environments. However, until now, there is no knowledge on garment size design for evaporative cooling optimization, especially when the human body is in movements. In this study, to understand the dynamic effect of garment size on evaporative cooling, we performed experiments on a sweating thermal manikin with seven garment sizes and three walking speeds. The evaporative cooling of global and local manikin body with this wide range garment sizes was present. Results demonstrated that the effect of garment size on evaporative cooling depended on the walking speed. At lower walking speeds, the global evaporative cooling tended to decrease with greater garment size, while at higher walking speeds, the global evaporative cooling tended to increase with greater garment size. Similarly, according to effects of garment size on local evaporative cooling, body segments could be divided into three categories for evaporativecooling optimization. Further, we analyzed factors which influenced the positive effect of walking speed on the evaporative cooling. Results showed that, for most cases, the increase of evaporative cooling caused by walking showed positive linear relationship with the garment size. Further increase of walking speed led to a greater increase rate of evaporative heat loss for body segments with the small air gap. This study provides insights into clothing local characteristics of evaporative cooling with different garment sizes under dynamic conditions and may help clothing design to optimize the evaporative cooling of working individuals in hot environments.

The Effect of Increased Gait Speed on Asymmetry and Variability in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Gait of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) is often reported to be more asymmetric and variable than gait of typically developing (TD) peers. As this may lead to less stable and less efficient gait, a relevant clinical question is how asymmetry may be improved and variability reduced in this population. The main objective of the current study was to investigate whether higher walking speed would affect gait symmetry and gait variability in children and adolescents with CP. Data from clinical gait analyses of 43 children and adolescents (29 males and 14 females) with unilateral (n = 28) or bilateral (n = 15) CP were included. Mean age was 11.3 ± 3.4 years, with level I (n = 26) or level II (n = 17) according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Corresponding data from 20 TD peers, matched in age and gender, were included as reference. Step time, step length, single support, and stance phase were studied at two different gait speeds: preferred and fast walking speed. Symmetry index and coefficient of variation were used as measures of asymmetry and variability, respectively. Results indicated that all participants managed to increase gait speed when instructed to do so. Overall, increased speed did not result in a more asymmetrical or variable gait, except for an increase in step length asymmetry and a difference in response between GMFCS levels I and II in variability. This implies that manipulation of gait speed may be useful clinically without necessarily making gait more unstable. However, some increase in step length asymmetry may be inevitable when gait speed is increased in people with CP.

Associations of physical activity in detailed intensity ranges with body composition and physical function. a cross-sectional study among sedentary older adults

BackgroundPhysical activity is crucial to maintain older adults’ health and functioning, but the health benefits of particular activity intensities remain unclear. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to peruse the distribution of physical activity, and to investigate the associations of particular physical activity intensities with body composition and physical function among older adults.MethodsThe sample comprised of 293 community-dwelling sedentary or at most moderately active older adults (42% men, mean age 74 ± 4 years). Physical activity was measured with a hip-worn tri-axial accelerometer over seven consecutive days, and investigated in detailed intensity range and in categories of sedentary, light and moderate-to-vigorous activity. Fat percent and appendicular lean mass were measured with DXA. Physical function was assessed by six-minutes walking test (6-min walk), maximal walking speed over 10 m (10-m walk) and Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Associations were estimated with partial correlation adjusted for sex and age.ResultsParticipants spent on average 602 min per day sedentary, 210 min in light activity and 32 min in moderate-to-vigorous activity. Light and moderate-to-vigorous activity were negatively associated with fat percent (r = − 0.360 and r = − 0.384, respectively, p < 0.001 for both), and positively with SPPB, 10-m walk and 6-min walk results (r = 0.145–0.279, p < 0.01, for light and r = 0.220–0.465, p < 0.001, for moderate-to-vigorous activity). In detailed investigation of the intensity range, associations of physical activity with fat percent, 6-min walk and 10-m walk were statistically significant from very light intensity activity onward, whereas significant associations between physical activity and SPPB were observed mostly at higher end of the intensity range. Sedentary time was positively associated with fat percent (r = 0.251, p < 0.001) and negatively with 6-min walk (r = − 0.170, p < 0.01).ConclusionPerusing the physical activity intensity range revealed that, among community-dwelling sedentary or at most moderately active older adults, physical activity of any intensity was positively associated with lower fat percent and higher walking speed over long and short distances. These findings provide additional evidence of the importance of encouraging older adults to engage in physical activity of any intensity. More intervention studies are required to confirm the health benefits of light-intensity activity.

A comparative study of pedestrian movement behavior over foot over bridges under similar land-use type

The paper compares pedestrian movement behavior over foot over bridges in four different cities of India under the same land use type (commercial area). The data was collected at commercial locations on weekdays in the cities of Kolkata, Bengaluru, Guwahati and New Delhi using videography technique. Radar charts and box plots were used to predict the mean and median speed of pedestrians based on gender, age and luggage. Probability density functions were also used to understand the speed variation among the different categories of pedestrians. Moreover, t-test and ANOVA test were performed to understand whether there existed any significant difference between the different pedestrian categories. Also, macroscopic relationships were plotted between the speed-flow rate-density. The results of the analysis showed that the overall mean speed of the pedestrians at Ultadanga (site 1) and ITO (site 4) was more than that at Marathahalli (site 2) and Maligaon (site 3). Also, the male pedestrians were observed to have higher median walking speeds than females for all four sites. The pedestrians with luggage at all the four locations had 5-6 m/min higher walking speeds than the ones without luggage, and such an observation was expected to the land use type of the pedestrian facilities. Moreover, the pedestrians in the age category 23-45 years age had the highest walking speeds in comparison to the other age groups for all the locations. The observed maximum flow rate and density were also found to be highest at site 3 in comparison to the other locations.

SOCIAL AND BIOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS FOR A FALL IN THE ENGLISH LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF AGEING (ELSA)

Falls are the most frequent type of accidents among older people, with one in three people aged over 65 falling each year. Falls serious enough to result in hospital admission are especially problematic, since they can lead to an increased likelihood of future disability, loss of independence, and premature mortality. Understanding the factors that may determine the risk of experiencing a fall, which requires admission to hospital, is therefore an important priority. This paper seeks to examine this issue using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data – administrative data from English hospitals in the National Health Service (NHS). These data have recently been linked with the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). We examine the association between a range of predictors (demographic, social environment, physical and mental functioning) drawn from wave 4 of ELSA with the first occurrence of hospitalisation due to an accidental fall, identified using ICD-10 codes. Analysis using Cox regression suggest a range of factors are negatively associated with admission to hospital with diagnosis of a fall, such as living alone (HR=1.42; 95% CI: 1.19, 1.68), urinary incontinence (HR=1.33; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.61) and depressive symptoms (HR=1.50; 95% CI: 1.23, 1.82). High walking speed (HR=0.30; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.39) and good hand-grip strength (HR=0.97; 95% CI: 0.96, 0.98) were found to be protective. The prevention of serious falls amongst older people will require determinants to be identified and managed effectively by health and social care services.

Effect of heel base area and walking speed on the utilized coefficient of friction during high-heeled walking.

The utilized coefficient of friction (uCOF) and the risk of slipping are known to increase as the heel height of shoes increases. The heel base area of shoes can also affect the uCOF. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the heel base area of high heels and walking speed on the uCOF during walking and their interaction effect. The walking experiment was conducted at the speed of 1.0 m/s and 1.25 m/s using four 9-cm high heels having different heel areas (narrow, moderate, wide, and wedge heels). The peak uCOF was significantly lower when wearing the wide heels than when wearing the other heels. Wearing the narrow and moderate heels reduced the vertical ground reaction force (GRF) owing to the early timing of the peak anterior-posterior GRF and increased the peak uCOF. As the walking speed became faster, the peak uCOF became greater with more increases by the interaction effect when wearing the narrow and moderate heels than when wearing the wide and wedge heels. These results imply that wearing narrow high heels should be considered carefully, as the potential for a slip could be high owing to the increase in the peak uCOF. If it is inevitable to wear narrow high heels, it is critical to walk at a slower speed than usual. It is better to wear high heels with a wide heel area, e.g., 3 cm*3 cm, rather than narrow high heels or even wedge heels to reduce the possibility of slipping.

Effects of functional power training on gait kinematics in children with cerebral palsy

BackgroundMuscle weakness is one of the most prevalent symptoms in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Although recent studies show that functional power training can improve strength and functional capacity in young children with CP, effects on specific gait parameters have not previously been reported. Research questionWhat are the effects of functional power training on gait in children with CP? Specifically, we investigated effects of training on gait kinematics and spatiotemporal parameters, and whether these were dependent on walking speed. MethodsTen children with CP (age 5–10 years, GMFCS I–II) participated in a functional power training program. At the start and end of the program, children underwent 3D gait analysis on a treadmill at a gradual range of walking speeds (70–175% of their comfortable walking speed). Multilevel (linear mixed model) analysis was used to evaluate effects pre-post training at different walking velocities. ResultsAlthough children’s self-chosen comfortable walking speed improved (0.71 ± 0.25 to 0.85 ± 0.25 m/s, p < .05), effects on gait kinematics at similar speed were limited and only exceeded statistical and clinically meaningful thresholds when children walked at higher walking speed. At fast speeds, improvements up to 5° were found in knee and hip extension during stance (p < .01). SignificanceThis study demonstrates that gait kinematics can improve after functional power training, but the magnitude of effects is dependent on walking speed. In this light, improvements are underestimated when evaluating gait at pre-training comfortable walking speed only.

Quantitative Assessment of Ataxic Gait using Inertial Sensing at Different Walking Speeds.

In this study, we employed wearable sensor technology to identify the kinematic features that are associated with the gait abnormalities seen in cerebellar ataxia. Measurements were made at self-selected slow, preferred and fast walking speeds with three sensors attached to the participant's body. Velocity irregularity and resonant frequency characteristics were identified as key features of interest concerning truncal and lower limb movements. Using the principal component analysis, differentiating features of both trunk and lower limb movements were combined to produce an enhanced distinction between the patients and the normal subjects, in addition to obtaining a better correlation with the expert clinician's assessments. The different speed of walking contributed to separation and correlation with medical severity rating scales such as SARA to varying degrees The results of truncal movement in the medio-lateral plane (at the slow gait speed) and antero-posterior movement (at all 3 gait speeds) provided the effective metrics in the diagnosis and severity rating of ataxic gait of CA patients. Furthermore, from the selected dominant features of the trunk and lower limb, principal component description suggested that overall clinical assessments are predominantly influenced by the lower body peripheral movements particularly at higher walking speeds.

Difference in Cortical Modulation of Walking between Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Healthy Controls: An EEG pilot study.

The overall goal of this study is to investigate the role of parietal cortex in the control of walking in persons with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS). We examined within-brain connectivity and cortico-muscular connectivity as pwMS and healthy control (HC) participants walked on an instrumented treadmill. Cortical activity was collected using EEG, muscle activity was collected using wireless EMG modules, and gait data were obtained by using the instrumented treadmill. Results show significant activation of sensorimotor and posterior parietal cortex during walking in both groups. Connectivity between parietal (posterior cingulate cortex PCC) and premotor regions (pars opercularis), and between PCC and contralateral muscles were higher in the healthy control group. Higher connectivity correlated with higher walking speed.

A Mobile Solution for Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation Gait Training.

Recent studies showed that Parkinson's disease (PD) patients improved their gait parameters while walking with rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS). They achieved a longer stride length, a reduced stride time variability and a higher walking speed. Combining RAS with mobile gait analysis would allow continuous monitoring of RAS effects and gait in natural environments. This paper proposes a mobile solution for home-based assessment of RAS by combining RAS gait training and a mobile system for data acquisition. Existing datasets were used to investigate the cadence of PD patients and to propose suitable frequencies for RAS gait training. The cadence calculation was implemented using a peak detection algorithm, which uses the time difference between two mid-swing events as stride time values. We validated our system as a whole using a cohort of 13 PD patients who performed RAS gait training. The algorithms were also validated against the eGaIT system, a state-of-the-art system, and achieved a mean F1 score for detected strides of 97.57 % ± 0.86 % and a mean absolute error for the cadence of 0.16 spm ± 0.09 spm. This study lays the ground work for further clinical studies investigating the effectiveness of mobile RAS within a home environment.