BOSTON — A speaker here at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association National Assembly presented the GaitKeeper – a motion capture system used to demonstrate variable cadence during the activities of daily living in patients with lower limb loss. The device consists of a computer-controlled camera system and in-shoe force sensing via an ankle-mounted wireless module.
Wilson Steele, director of engineering and cofounder of Anatomical Engineering, conducted a study of 47 patients, whose gait data was recorded 67 times at three sites using the GaitKeeper. There was no separation by K-level and payer nomenclature did not qualify. Researchers defined measurable cadence units as steps-per-minute, meters-per-second and meters-per-step.
“The data exhibited some scatter,” Steele said. “We now have to break it down into an agreed upon number of distinct and possibly overlapping groups.”
While findings suggest the device was able to track cadence, Steele said, “cadence, steps-per-minute, is only one-third of the story, at best. There is more data left to measure.”
Steel said the team will continue to develop the GaitKeeper and new ways to measure cadence in lower limb amputees. – by Shawn M. Carter
Reference:
Steele W. Evaluation of a simple, low-cost turnkey motion capture system for demonstrating variable cadence and activities of daily living in daily practice. Presented at: American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association National Assembly; Sept. 8-11, 2016; Boston.
Disclosure: Steele reports he is a cofounder and owner of Anatomical Engineering.
