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Sensor-based foot-mounted wearable system and pressure sensitive gait analysis

Agreement in frail elderly people in long-term care

Tragbarer Fußsensor und druckempfindliches Ganganalysesystem

Übereinstimmung bei älteren Menschen in Langzeitpflege

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Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The RehaWatch® system is a portable accelerometer for measurement of gait parameters that shows good validity in young adults; however, validity data are missing for elderly persons in long-term care (LTC).

Aim

The aim was to evaluate the concurrent validity of the RehaWatch® system using the GAITRite® system as a criterion reference for gait assessment in the LTC elderly.

Material and methods

In this study 23 elderly participants (mean age 90.9 ± 8.4 years) performed 4 walking trials at normal and fast walking speed during single task and dual task walking. Data for both systems were collected simultaneously for each trial. Concurrent validity was assessed through limits of agreement (LoA) methodology using Bland-Altman plots.

Results

No systematic bias could be determined. Mean biases for step duration, velocity and cadence were above the prespecified ±7 % value from zero lines for normal walking during single task and dual task walking. The LoA had a wide range between −21 % and 25 %. Only cadence showed small LoA for normal walking speed during single (−8.4 % to 7.7 %) and dual tasking (−4.1 % to 3 %). Heterogeneous bias was determined for step duration during fast walking during dual task and for velocity during fast walking during single task and dual task. Heteroscedasticity was shown for step length during normal walking under the dual task condition and fast walking during single task and dual task activities.

Conclusion

No gait parameters are interchangeably usable between the two systems for normal walking during single task and dual task activities.

Zusammenfassung

Hintergrund

Das RehaWatch® System ist ein tragbares Beschleunigungsmessgerät zur Messung von Gangparametern, das eine gute Validität bei jungen Erwachsenen zeigt. Allerdings fehlen Daten zur Validität bei älteren Menschen in Langzeitpflege.

Ziel

Das Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Validität des RehaWatch®-Systems mit dem GAITRite®-System bei älteren Menschen in Langzeitpflege zu vergleichen.

Material und Methoden

In dieser Studie führten 23 ältere Probanden (Durchschnittsalter: 90,9 ± 8,4 Jahre) bei normaler und hoher Laufgeschwindigkeit Einfach- und Doppelaufgaben aus. Dabei wurden gleichzeitig Daten vom RehaWatch®-System und dem GAITRite®-System gesammelt, um mittels Bland-Altman-Plots die Übereinstimmungsgrenzen festzustellen.

Ergebnisse

Es konnte kein systematischer bestimmt werden. Der mittlere Bias für Schrittdauer, Laufgeschwindigkeit und Trittfrequenz lag über die zuvor festgelegten Grenze von ±7 % für normales Gehen mit Einfach- und Doppelaufgaben. Die Übereinstimmungsgrenzen lagen zwischen −21 und 15 %. Nur die Kadenz zeigte eine schmale Übereinstimmungsgrenze für Einfachaufgaben (−4,1 bis 3 %) und Doppelaufgaben (−8,4 bis 7,7 %). Heterogene Bias wurden für die Schrittdauer beim schnellen Gehen für Doppelaufgaben und für die Geschwindigkeit beim schnellen Gehen für Einfach- und Doppelaufgaben bestimmt. Die Heteroskedastizität wurde für die Schrittlänge während des normalen Gehens mit Doppelaufgaben und des schnellen Gehens mit Einfachaufgaben ermittelt.

Schlussfolgerung

Für normales Gehen mit Einfach- und Doppelaufgaben kann zwischen den beiden Systemen kein Gangparameter genutzt werden.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ross Bennie for proofreading.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health, Discipline of Physiotherapy, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Murtenstrasse 10, 3008, Bern, Switzerland

    Slavko Rogan

  2. Department of Epidemiology, CAPHRI School for Public Health and Primary Care, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Slavko Rogan, Rob de Bie & Eling Douwe de Bruin

  3. Centre for Evidence Based Physiotherapy, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Rob de Bie & Eling Douwe de Bruin

  4. Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Eling Douwe de Bruin

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  1. Slavko Rogan
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Correspondence to Slavko Rogan.

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Conflict of interests

S. Rogan, R. de Bie and E. Douwe de Bruin state that they have no conflict of interests. This study used a cross-sectional study design and follows the STARD publication guidelines.

All studies on humans described in this manuscript were carried out with the approval of the responsible ethics committee and in accordance with national law and the Helsinki Declaration (in its present revised form). Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the study.

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Rogan, S., de Bie, R. & Douwe de Bruin, E. Sensor-based foot-mounted wearable system and pressure sensitive gait analysis. Z Gerontol Geriat 50, 488–497 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-016-1124-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-016-1124-z

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