Sensors (Feb 2024)

A Transferable Lidar-Based Method to Conduct Contactless Assessments of Gait Parameters in Diverse Home-like Environments

  • Michael Single,
  • Lena C. Bruhin,
  • Aaron Colombo,
  • Kevin Möri,
  • Stephan M. Gerber,
  • Jacob Lahr,
  • Paul Krack,
  • Stefan Klöppel,
  • René M. Müri,
  • Urs P. Mosimann,
  • Tobias Nef

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/s24041172
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 24, no. 4
p. 1172

Abstract

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Gait abnormalities in older adults are linked to increased risks of falls, institutionalization, and mortality, necessitating accurate and frequent gait assessments beyond traditional clinical settings. Current methods, such as pressure-sensitive walkways, often lack the continuous natural environment monitoring needed to understand an individual’s gait fully during their daily activities. To address this gap, we present a Lidar-based method capable of unobtrusively and continuously tracking human leg movements in diverse home-like environments, aiming to match the accuracy of a clinical reference measurement system. We developed a calibration-free step extraction algorithm based on mathematical morphology to realize Lidar-based gait analysis. Clinical gait parameters of 45 healthy individuals were measured using Lidar and reference systems (a pressure-sensitive walkway and a video recording system). Each participant participated in three predefined ambulation experiments by walking over the walkway. We observed linear relationships with strong positive correlations (R2>0.9) between the values of the gait parameters (step and stride length, step and stride time, cadence, and velocity) measured with the Lidar sensors and the pressure-sensitive walkway reference system. Moreover, the lower and upper 95% confidence intervals of all gait parameters were tight. The proposed algorithm can accurately derive gait parameters from Lidar data captured in home-like environments, with a performance not significantly less accurate than clinical reference systems.

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