Comparison of different methods for the estimation of gait temporal parameters using a single inertial sensor mounted on the lower trunk: application to elderly and hemiparetic subjects

The estimation of gait temporal parameters with wearable inertial measurement units (IMU) has been a research topic of interest in clinical gait analysis. Several methods, based on the use of a single IMU, have been proposed for their estimate, showing in most cases a sufficiently low number of missed and extra events and a satisfactory accuracy when applied to the gait of healthy subjects. In this study, we hypothesized that the same does not hold for abnormal gait. Some of the methods were applied to the gait of a group of hemiparetic subjects and to a group of healthy elderly. The results confirmed the hypothesis since, when applied to the hemiparetic subjects gait, all methods showed a) a higher number of missed and extra gait events detected by all tested methods, b) a significantly lower accuracy in estimating both gait events and temporal parameters. Errors in estimating gait temporal parameters were not significantly different among methods.