Quantifying the stability of walking using accelerometers

A dynamic analysis method is sought to measure the relative stability of walking, using a triaxial accelerometer. A performance parameter that can be calculated from the data from the accelerometer is defined; it should give a measure of the stability of the subject. It is based on the balancing forces as reflected in the power spectrum. Preliminary experiments have been done. The results suggest that the performance parameter can order different gait patterns in terms of relative stability. Further experiments are being set up to test the usefulness of the performance parameter in clinical applications and other parameters may be defined