Exploring Risk of Falls and Dynamic Unbalance in Cerebellar Ataxia by Inertial Sensor Assessment.
Sensors (Basel)
; 19(24)2019 Dec 17.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31861099
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Patients suffering from cerebellar ataxia have extremely variable gait kinematic features. We investigated whether and how wearable inertial sensors can describe the gait kinematic features among ataxic patients.METHODS:
We enrolled 17 patients and 16 matched control subjects. We acquired data by means of an inertial sensor attached to an ergonomic belt around pelvis, which was connected to a portable computer via Bluetooth. Recordings of all the patients were obtained during overground walking. From the accelerometric data, we obtained the harmonic ratio (HR), i.e., a measure of the acceleration patterns, smoothness and rhythm, and the step length coefficient of variation (CV), which evaluates the variability of the gait cycle.RESULTS:
Compared to controls, patients had a lower HR, meaning a less harmonic and rhythmic acceleration pattern of the trunk, and a higher step length CV, indicating a more variable step length. Both HR and step length CV showed a high effect size in distinguishing patients and controls (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). A positive correlation was found between the step length CV and both the number of falls (R = 0.672; p = 0.003) and the clinical severity (ICARS R = 0.494; p = 0.044; SARA R = 0.680; p = 0.003).CONCLUSION:
These findings demonstrate that the use of inertial sensors is effective in evaluating gait and balance impairment among ataxic patients.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Accidentes por Caídas
/
Ataxia Cerebelosa
/
Equilibrio Postural
/
Acelerometría
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Límite:
Female
/
Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Sensors (Basel)
Año:
2019
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia