Assessment of walking speed by a goniometer-based method

A quantitative gait analysis is essential to evaluate the kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic gait patterns. These patterns are strongly related to the individual spatio-temporal parameters that characterize each subject. In particular, gait speed is one of the most important spatio-temporal gait parameters: it influences kinematic, kinetic parameters, and muscle activity too. The aim of the present study is to propose a new method to assess stride speed using only 1-degree-of-freedom electrogoniometers positioned on hip and knee joints. The model validation is performed comparing the model results with those automatically obtained from another gait analysis system: GAITRite. The results underline the model reliability. These results show that essential spatio-temporal gait parameters, and in particular the speed of each stride, can be determined during normal walking using only two 1-dof electrogoniometers. The method is easy-to-use and does not interfere with regular walking patterns.