Individuals with a COVID-19 History Showed Asymmetric Gait Patterns Although Full Recovery: A Sample Biomechanical Analysis Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilal Keklicek ◽  
Halit Selçuk ◽  
İlke Kurt ◽  
Sezer Ulukaya ◽  
Gülnur Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Full Recovery ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Analysis Study ◽  
Asymmetric Gait

scholarly journals The Actuation System of the Ankle Exoskeleton T-FLEX: First Use Experimental Validation in People with Stroke

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 412
Author(s):  
Daniel Gomez-Vargas ◽  
Felipe Ballen-Moreno ◽  
Patricio Barria ◽  
Rolando Aguilar ◽  
José M. Azorín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Sensor ◽  
Movement Analysis ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Actuation System ◽  
Abnormal Gait ◽  
Ankle Kinematics ◽  
Robotic Devices

Robotic devices can provide physical assistance to people who have suffered neurological impairments such as stroke. Neurological disorders related to this condition induce abnormal gait patterns, which impede the independence to execute different Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). From the fundamental role of the ankle in walking, Powered Ankle-Foot Orthoses (PAFOs) have been developed to enhance the users’ gait patterns, and hence their quality of life. Ten patients who suffered a stroke used the actuation system of the T-FLEX exoskeleton triggered by an inertial sensor on the foot tip. The VICONmotion capture system recorded the users’ kinematics for unassisted and assisted gait modalities. Biomechanical analysis and usability assessment measured the performance of the system actuation for the participants in overground walking. The biomechanical assessment exhibited changes in the lower joints’ range of motion for 70% of the subjects. Moreover, the ankle kinematics showed a correlation with the variation of other movements analyzed. This variation had positive effects on 70% of the participants in at least one joint. The Gait Deviation Index (GDI) presented significant changes for 30% of the paretic limbs and 40% of the non-paretic, where the tendency was to decrease. The spatiotemporal parameters did not show significant variations between modalities, although users’ cadence had a decrease of 70% of the volunteers. Lastly, the satisfaction with the device was positive, the comfort being the most user-selected aspect. This article presents the assessment of the T-FLEX actuation system in people who suffered a stroke. Biomechanical results show improvement in the ankle kinematics and variations in the other joints. In general terms, GDI does not exhibit significant increases, and the Movement Analysis Profile (MAP) registers alterations for the assisted gait with the device. Future works should focus on assessing the full T-FLEX orthosis in a larger sample of patients, including a stage of training.

Biomechanical analysis of gait patterns in children with intellectual disabilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 912-921
Author(s):  
Y. Ma ◽  
K. Zhang ◽  
S. Li ◽  
L. Wang ◽  
T. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Disabilities ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Gait Patterns

scholarly journals Individuals Poststroke Do Not Perceive Their Spatiotemporal Gait Asymmetries as Abnormal

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 1244-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton J. Wutzke ◽  
Richard A. Faldowski ◽  
Michael D. Lewek
Keyword(s):  
Step Length ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Conscious Awareness ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Temporal Asymmetry ◽  
Gait Asymmetry ◽  
Stance Time ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Asymmetric Gait

Background Following stroke, spatiotemporal gait asymmetries persist into the chronic phases, despite the neuromuscular capacity to produce symmetric walking patterns. This persistence of gait asymmetry may be due to deficits in perception, as the newly established asymmetric gait pattern is perceived as normal. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of usual overground gait asymmetry on the ability to consciously and unconsciously perceive the presence of gait asymmetry in people poststroke. Design An observational study was conducted. Methods Thirty people poststroke walked overground and on a split-belt treadmill with the belts moving at different speeds (0%–70% difference) to impose varied step length and stance time asymmetries. Conscious awareness and subconscious detection of imposed gait patterns were determined for each participant, and the asymmetry magnitudes at those points were compared with overground gait. Results For both spatial and temporal asymmetry variables, the asymmetry magnitude at the threshold of awareness was significantly greater than the asymmetry present at the threshold of detection or during overground gait. Participants appeared to identify belt speed differences using the type of gait asymmetry they typically exhibited (ie, step length or stance time asymmetries during overground gait). Limitations Very few individuals with severe spatiotemporal asymmetry were tested, and participants were instructed to identify asymmetric belt speeds rather than interlimb movements. Conclusions The data suggest that asymmetry magnitudes need to exceed usual overground levels to reach conscious awareness. Therefore, it is proposed that the spatiotemporal asymmetry that is specific to each participant may need to be augmented beyond what he or she usually has during walking in order to promote awareness of asymmetric gait patterns for long-term correction and learning.

scholarly journals Actuation system of the ankle exoskeleton T-FLEX: first use experimental validation in people with stroke

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gomez-Vargas ◽  
Felipe Ballen-Moreno ◽  
Patricio Barria ◽  
Rolando Aguilar ◽  
José M. Azorín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Inertial Sensor ◽  
Movement Analysis ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Actuation System ◽  
Abnormal Gait ◽  
Gait Deviation Index ◽  
Robotic Devices

Abstract Background: Robotic devices can provide physical assistance to people who have suffered neurological impairments such as stroke. Neurological disorders related to this condition induce abnormal gait patterns, which harm the independence to execute different Activities of Daily Living (ADL). From the fundamental role of the ankle in walking, Active Ankle-Foot Orthoses (AAFOs) have been developed to enhance the users' gait patterns, and hence, their quality of life.Methods: Ten patients who suffered stroke used the actuation system of the T-FLEX orthosis triggered by an inertial sensor on the foot tip. The VICON motion capture system recorded the users' kinematics for unassisted and assisted gait modalities. Biomechanical analysis and usability assessment measured the performance of the system actuation for the participants in overground walking. Results: The biomechanical assessment exhibited changes in the range of motion of the lower joints for $70\%$ of the subjects. Moreover, the ankle kinematics showed a correlation with the variation of other movements analyzed. This variation had positive effects on 70\% of the participants in at least one joint. The Gait Deviation Index (GDI) presented significant changes for 30\% of the paretic limbs, where one volunteer increased this index in 14\%. The spatiotemporal parameters did not show significant variations between modalities, although users' cadence had a decrease. Lastly, the satisfaction with the device was positive, being the comfort the most users-selected aspect.Conclusions: This article presented the assessment of the T-FLEX actuation system in people who suffered stroke. Biomechanical results showed improvement in the ankle kinematic and variation in the other joints. In general terms, GDI did not exhibit significant changes, and Movement Analysis Profile (MAP) registered the main movements altered by the device. Future works should focus on assessing the full T-FLEX orthosis in a larger sample of patients that includes a stage of training.Trial registration: This study was registered as Preliminary Biomechanical and Usability Study of an Active Ankle-Foot Orthosis for Stroke Survivors on 30 January 2020 in Clinical Trials with the identi er No NCT04249349 (available at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04249349).

scholarly journals Novel velocity estimation for symmetric and asymmetric self-paced treadmill training

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Canete ◽  
Daniel A. Jacobs
Keyword(s):  
Visual Feedback ◽  
Muscle Activity ◽  
Walking Speed ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Velocity Estimation ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Joint Torques ◽  
Locked Knee ◽  
Walking Velocity ◽  
Asymmetric Gait

Abstract Background Self-paced treadmills (SPT) can provide an engaging setting for gait rehabilitation by responding directly to the user’s intent to modulate the external environment and internal effort. They also can improve gait analyses by allowing scientists and clinicians to directly measure the effect of an intervention on walking velocity. Unfortunately, many common SPT algorithms are not suitable for individuals with gait impairment because they are designed for symmetric gait patterns. When the user’s gait is asymmetric due to paresis or if it contains large accelerations, the performance is diminished. Creating and validating an SPT that is suitable for asymmetric gait will improve our ability to study rehabilitation interventions in populations with gait impairment. The objective of this study was to test and validate a novel self-paced treadmill on both symmetric and asymmetric gait patterns and evaluate differences in gait kinematics, kinetics, and muscle activity between fixed-speed and self-paced treadmill walking. Methods We collected motion capture, ground reaction force data, and muscle activity from 6 muscles in the dominant leg during walking from 8 unimpaired subjects. In the baseline condition, the subjects walked at 3 fixed-speeds normalized to their leg length as Froude numbers. We developed a novel kinematic method for increasing the accuracy of the user’s estimated walking velocity and compared our method against other published algorithms at each speed. Afterward, subjects walked on the SPT while matching their walking speed to a given target velocity using visual feedback of the treadmill speed. We evaluated the SPT by measuring steady-state error and the number of steps to reach the desired speed. We split the gait cycle into 7 phases and compared the kinematic, kinetic, and muscle activity between the fixed speed and self-paced mode in each phase. Then, we validated the performance of the SPT for asymmetric gait by having subjects walk on the SPT while wearing a locked-knee brace set to 0° on the non-dominant leg. Results Our SPT enabled controlled walking for both symmetric and asymmetric gait patterns. Starting from rest, subjects were able to control the SPT to reach the targeted speeds using visual feedback in 13–21 steps. With the locked knee brace, subjects controlled the treadmill with substantial step length and step velocity asymmetry. One subject was able to execute a step-to gait and halt the treadmill on heel-strikes with the braced leg. Our kinematic correction for step-length outperformed the competing algorithms by significantly reducing the velocity estimation error at the tested velocities. The joint kinematics, joint torques, and muscle activity were generally similar between fixed-speed and self-paced walking. Statistically significant differences were found in 5 of 63 tests for joint kinematics, 2 of 63 tests for joint torques, and 9 of 126 tests for muscle activity. The differences that were statistically significant were not found across all speeds and were generally small enough to be of limited clinical relevance. Conclusions We present a validated method for implementing a self-paced treadmill for asymmetric and symmetric gaits. As a result of the increased accuracy of our estimation algorithm, our SPT produced controlled walking without including a position feedback controller, thereby reducing the influence of the controller on measurements of the user’s true walking speed. Our method relies only on a kinematic correction to step length and step time which can support transfer to systems outside of the laboratory for symmetric and asymmetric gaits in clinical populations.

Biomechanical Analysis of Tool Use

2012 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Biryukova ◽  
Blandine Bril
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Biomechanical Analysis

A cluster analysis study onCinnamomum from Kerala, India

1991 ◽  
Vol 102 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Shylaja Ravindran ◽  
R. Balakrishnan ◽  
K. S. Manilal ◽  
P. M. Ravindran
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Analysis Study
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