Evaluation of gait parameters by the knee accelerations

A portable micro-processor based data acquisition system has been developed to measure the acceleration of both legs during gait for ambulatory subjects and to evaluate temporal and spatial gait parameters. Experiments were performed on ten hemiplegic patients with different Brunnstrom stage (Br stage) grading. The orthogonal acceleration at the knee joint was measured from walking at a normal speed. The results according to various gait parameters such as gait cycle and stance were significantly different among patients with a different Br stage. This monitor may promise to allow quantitative evaluation of hemiplegic patients both in a hospital environment and in their home.