Development of a system for quantitative study of pediatric walker-assisted gait

The focus of this work was to develop a quantitative method for determining upper extremity kinetics during pediatric walker-assisted gait. To accomplish this goal, a walker dynamometer system employing two load cells was developed. The load cells are portable and lightweight and can be mounted to either an anterior or posterior walker frame. The walker dynamometer was integrated with an upper extremity biomechanical model. The internal joint moments at the wrist, elbow, and shoulder were determined using the inverse dynamics method. The walker system permits accurate measurement of three-dimensional wrist, elbow and shoulder loads in children and quantitative biomechanical comparison of anterior and posterior walker usage.