Objective and standardized gait and motion analysis of patients using a mobile phone

Purpose and goal

The established gait index constitutes a simple and easily accessible technique for both care givers and patients to follow the development of a person’s gait pattern during a rehabilitation, or to ensure that a gait problem is not becoming worse. The system allows the user to easily follow their development using their mobile phone, as well as the care giver to do so at a distance. In this way, the gait development can be tracked in between visits to the care giver, allowing for a more efficient and reliable care and rehabilitation.

Expected results and effects

The initial version of the system aimed at care givers is now available for user tests. The system is currently evaluated by both care givers and patients with different gait disorders. As more sensor data becomes available, the system will be refined and the used algorithms improved using the calibration measurements performed as part of this project. According to our plan, we aim to enroll our initial active clinical users during 2019.

Planned approach and implementation

The gait patterns of the testers were filmed while walking on a calibrated treadmill while sensor data was measured using a wait-attached mobile phone. Testers with different gait patterns and degrees of limping were filmed, and were then examined by physiotherapists. These made a subjective evaluation of the testers gait patterns according to a 0-100 scale. The system algorithms were then calibrated with the averaged opinion. In this way, the subjective evaluations have been translated to an objective gait index, as was the aim of the project.