Item-Glatthorn Julia F, Maffiuletti Nicola A
Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, Schulthess Clinic;
Neuromuscular Research Laboratory, Schulthess Clinic.
J Vis Exp. 2014 Nov 7(93):e51878. doi: 10.3791/51878.
Spatial and temporal characteristics of human walking are frequently evaluated to identify possible gait impairments, mainly in orthopedic and neurological patients, but also in healthy older adults. The quantitative gait analysis described in this protocol is performed with a recently-introduced photoelectric system (see Materials table) which has the potential to be used in the clinic because it is portable, easy to set up (no subject preparation is required before a test), and does not require maintenance and sensor calibration. The photoelectric system consists of series of high-density floor-based photoelectric cells with light-emitting and light-receiving diodes that are placed parallel to each other to create a corridor, and are oriented perpendicular to the line of progression. The system simply detects interruptions in light signal, for instance due to the presence of feet within the recording area. Temporal gait parameters and 1D spatial coordinates of consecutive steps are subsequently calculated to provide common gait parameters such as step length, single limb support and walking velocity, whose validity against a criterion instrument has recently been demonstrated. The measurement procedures are very straightforward; a single patient can be tested in less than 5 min and a comprehensive report can be generated in less than 1 min.
人们经常评估人类行走的时空特征，以识别可能存在的步态障碍，这主要针对骨科和神经科患者，但也包括健康的老年人。本方案中描述的定量步态分析是使用一种最近推出的光电系统进行的（见材料表），该系统有可能用于临床，因为它便于携带、易于设置（测试前无需对受试者进行准备），并且不需要维护和传感器校准。该光电系统由一系列基于地面的高密度光电元件组成，这些元件带有发光二极管和受光二极管，它们相互平行放置以形成一条通道，并垂直于行进方向排列。该系统只需检测光信号的中断，例如由于记录区域内有脚的存在。随后计算连续步态的时间参数和一维空间坐标，以提供常见的步态参数，如步长、单腿支撑时间和步行速度，最近已证明这些参数相对于标准仪器的有效性。测量过程非常简单；一名患者在不到5分钟内即可完成测试，不到1分钟即可生成一份综合报告。
