Clinical gait analysis is the accepted “gold standard” for evaluating an individual’s walking pattern. However, in certain conditions such as idiopathic toe walking (ITW), the degree of voluntary control that a subject may elicit upon their walking pattern in a gait laboratory may not truly reflect their gait during daily activities. Therefore, a battery-powered, wireless data acquisition system was developed to record daily walking patterns to assist in the assessment of treatment outcomes in this patient population. The device was developed to be small , light-weight (15 g), easy to install, reliable, and consumed little power. It could be mounted across the laces of the shoe, while forces and walking activities were recorded to investigate the percentage of toe walking during the assessment. Laboratory tests were performed and preliminary clinical trials at a gait laboratory were done on six normal gait walkers. These volunteers also try to walk on their toes to simulate the toe walking at the gait laboratory. The system was able to track the gait pattern and determine the percentage of toe walking relative to normal gait. Three boys and one girl were diagnosed with ITW then participated into this study. A total of 4 sets thirty-three 10 min data sessions (5.5 h) were collected outside the laboratory. The results showed that the test subjects walked on their toes of the total walking time, which was higher than that they performed at the gait laboratory. This preliminary study shows promising results that the system should be able to use for clinical assessment and evaluation of children with ITW.
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e-mail: elou@ualberta.ca
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June 2011
Technical Briefs
A Low Power Wireless Data Acquisition Device to Monitor Gait Patterns for Children With Toe Walking During Daily Activities
Edmond H. M. Lou,
Edmond H. M. Lou
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
e-mail: elou@ualberta.ca
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V4, Canada; Research and Technology Development, Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
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Emma K. Brunton,
Emma K. Brunton
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
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Fraaz Kamal,
Fraaz Kamal
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V4, Canada
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Andreas Renggli,
Andreas Renggli
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
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Kyle Kemp,
Kyle Kemp
Department of Surgery,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
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Justin Lewicke,
Justin Lewicke
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
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Dulai Sukhdeep,
Dulai Sukhdeep
Department of Surgery,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
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Joe M. Watt,
Joe M. Watt
Department of Pediatrics,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
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John Andersen
John Andersen
Department of Pediatrics,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
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Edmond H. M. Lou
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V4, Canada; Research and Technology Development, Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canadae-mail: elou@ualberta.ca
Emma K. Brunton
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
Fraaz Kamal
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2V4, Canada
Andreas Renggli
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
Kyle Kemp
Department of Surgery,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
Justin Lewicke
Research and Technology Development,
Alberta Health Services-Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Site
, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5G 0B7, Canada
Dulai Sukhdeep
Department of Surgery,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
Joe M. Watt
Department of Pediatrics,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, Canada
John Andersen
Department of Pediatrics,
University of Alberta
, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2B7, CanadaJ. Med. Devices. Jun 2011, 5(2): 024501 (6 pages)
Published Online: May 31, 2011
Article history
Received:
March 25, 2010
Revised:
March 8, 2011
Online:
May 31, 2011
Published:
May 31, 2011
Citation
Lou, E. H. M., Brunton, E. K., Kamal, F., Renggli, A., Kemp, K., Lewicke, J., Sukhdeep, D., Watt, J. M., and Andersen, J. (May 31, 2011). "A Low Power Wireless Data Acquisition Device to Monitor Gait Patterns for Children With Toe Walking During Daily Activities." ASME. J. Med. Devices. June 2011; 5(2): 024501. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4003809
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