Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Irákleion, 71410 Crete, Greece.
Department of Technology and Society, SUNY Korea, Incheon 21985, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 15;18(6):3001. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063001.
Enhancing gait stability in people who use crutches is paramount for their health. With the significant difference in gait compared to users who do not require an assistive device, the use of standard gait analysis tools to measure movement for temporary crush users and physically disabled people proves to be more challenging. In this paper, a novel approach based on video analysis is proposed as non-contact low-cost solution to the more expensive alternative with the data collected from processed videos, two values are calculated: the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of acceleration, and the Signal to Noise Ratio of the jerk (time derivative of acceleration), to assess the user's stability while they walk with crutches. The adopted methodology has been tested on a total of 10 participants. Five are temporary users of assistive devices with one being a long-term user and the other four novice users, and five are disabled participants who use those assistive devices permanently. Preliminary results show differences between novice users, long-term users, and physically disabled users. The approach is promising and could improve the assessment of crutch user stability, allowing for the correction of gait for individuals while using an inexpensive non-contact setup and preventing unnecessary falls.
提高使用拐杖的人的步态稳定性对他们的健康至关重要。与不需要辅助设备的使用者相比，使用标准步态分析工具来测量临时使用者和身体残疾者的运动，证明更具挑战性。在本文中，提出了一种基于视频分析的新方法，作为更昂贵替代方案的非接触式低成本解决方案，该方法使用从处理后的视频中收集的数据，计算两个值：加速度的信噪比 (SNR) 和冲击的信噪比（加速度的时间导数），以评估使用者在使用拐杖行走时的稳定性。所采用的方法已在总共 10 名参与者上进行了测试。其中五名为辅助设备的临时使用者，其中一名为长期使用者，另外四名是新手使用者，还有五名为永久性使用这些辅助设备的残疾参与者。初步结果显示了新手使用者、长期使用者和身体残疾使用者之间的差异。该方法很有前途，可以改善对拐杖使用者稳定性的评估，允许在使用廉价的非接触式设置的情况下对个人的步态进行纠正，防止不必要的摔倒。
