EVALUATION OF GAIT ASYMMETRY USING FORCE PLATES VERSUS ACCELEROMETER

Evaluation of kinetic asymmetry during walking has been important to both researchers and clinicians. Wearable devices such as accelerometers are inexpensive, easily accessible tools provide valuable information in gait analysis and offer the potential to assess asymmetry without restriction to cost-ineffective laboratory settings. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using an accelerometer in assessment of force asymmetry in gait. To this end, the relationship between asymmetry measured from force platforms and a skin-mounted accelerometer on the lower back was studied during normal walking as well as five different levels of self-induced simulated asymmetry. Results show that there is a positive overall correlation between the asymmetry indices measured by the two methods ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]). Future study is needed to investigate factors such as age, gender, and anthropometric properties that can help develop a predictive model.

Lifted graphene nanoribbons on gold: from smooth sliding to multiple stick-slip regimes

Picked up at one end, graphene nanoribbons can be made to slide on gold by atomic-force microscopy. Numerical simulations reveal, as a function of the lifting height, a surprising dynamic transition from smooth sliding to multiple stick-slip regimes, with a force asymmetry between the pushing and pulling directions.