Within trial validation and reliability of a single tri-axial accelerometer for gait assessment

Gait is a sensitive biomarker of decline in both cognitive and physical function. Therefore, the collection of gait data is an important feature of clinical assessments. Accelerometer-based body worn sensors are quickly becoming the preferred tool for assessing gait because they are small, useable in a wide variety of settings, offer more continuous spatio-temporal analysis and are inexpensive when compared with traditional gait assessment methodologies. The purpose of this study was to determine the validity and within test reliability of a low cost body worn movement sensor with associated algorithms to assess gait in a large group of older and younger healthy adults. We collected gait data over intermittent walks on an instrumented walkway for a within trial validation and also used the same accelerometer derived gait data for a within test reliability analysis. ICCs for validation and reliability were >0.756 and >0.965, respectively.