Performance Evaluation for Clinical Stroke Rehabilitation via an Automatic Mobile Gait Trainer.

This paper investigates the clinical efficacy of an automatic mobile trainer for gait training in stroke patients. Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) is a rehabilitation method for stroke patients that enhances motor learning through repeated practice. Despite the proven effectiveness of therapist-assisted NDT, it is labor-intensive and demands health resources. Therefore, we developed automatic trainers based on NDT principles to perform gait training. This paper modifies the mobile trainer's intervention patterns to improve the subject's longitudinal gait symmetry, lateral pelvic displacement symmetry, and pelvic rotation. We first invited ten healthy subjects to test the modified trainer and then recruited 26 stroke patients to undergo the same gait training. Longitudinal symmetry, lateral symmetry, and pelvic rotation were assessed before, during, and after the intervention. Most subjects show improvements in longitudinal symmetry, lateral symmetry, and pelvic rotation after using the trainer. These results confirm the trainer's effectiveness of the modified intervention schemes in helping clinical gait rehabilitation for stroke patients.

Superior Gait Symmetry and Postural Stability among Yoga Instructors-Inertial Measurement Unit-Based Evaluation.

This study investigates gait symmetry and single-leg stance balance of professional yoga instructors versus age-matched typically developed controls using inertial measurement unit (IMU)-based evaluation. We recruited twenty-five yoga instructors and twenty-five healthy control subjects to conduct the walking experiments and single-leg stance tests. Kinematic data were measured by attaching IMUs to the lower limbs and trunk. We assessed the asymmetry of swing phases during the normal-walk and tandem-walk tests with eyes open and closed, respectively. The subjects subsequently conducted four single-leg stance tests, including a single-leg stance on both legs with eyes open and closed. Two balance indexes regarding the angular velocities of the waist and chest were defined to assess postural stability. The gait asymmetry indexes of yoga instructors were significantly lower than those of the typically developed controls. Similarly, the yoga instructors had better body balance in all four single-leg stance tests. This study's findings suggest that yoga improves gait asymmetry and balance ability in healthy adults. In the future, further intervention studies could be conducted to confirm the effect of yoga training.

Detection and Classification of Stroke Gaits by Deep Neural Networks Employing Inertial Measurement Units.

This paper develops Deep Neural Network (DNN) models that can recognize stroke gaits. Stroke patients usually suffer from partial disability and develop abnormal gaits that can vary widely and need targeted treatments. Evaluation of gait patterns is crucial for clinical experts to make decisions about the medication and rehabilitation strategies for the stroke patients. However, the evaluation is often subjective, and different clinicians might have different diagnoses of stroke gait patterns. In addition, some patients may present with mixed neurological gaits. Therefore, we apply artificial intelligence techniques to detect stroke gaits and to classify abnormal gait patterns. First, we collect clinical gait data from eight stroke patients and seven healthy subjects. We then apply these data to develop DNN models that can detect stroke gaits. Finally, we classify four common gait abnormalities seen in stroke patients. The developed models achieve an average accuracy of 99.35% in detecting the stroke gaits and an average accuracy of 97.31% in classifying the gait abnormality. Based on the results, the developed DNN models could help therapists or physicians to diagnose different abnormal gaits and to apply suitable rehabilitation strategies for stroke patients.

Superior gait performance and balance ability in Latin dancers.

Background: Latin dance consists of various fast and stability-challenging movements that require constant body adjustments to maintain proper posture and balance. Although human gaits are assumed to be symmetrical, several factors can contribute to asymmetrical behavior of the lower extremities in healthy adults. These include lower limb dominance, ground reaction forces, lower limb muscle power, foot placement angle, and range of joint motion. Gait impairment can lead to a high risk of falling, diminished mobility, and even cognition impairment. We hypothesized that Latin dancers might have a more symmetric gait pattern and better balance ability than healthy non-dancer controls. Methods: We investigated the impact of Latin dance training on gait behaviors and body balance. We recruited twenty Latin dancers and 22 normal healthy subjects to conduct walking experiments and one-leg stance tests, and we measured their kinematic data by inertial measurement units. We then defined four performance indexes to assess gait performance and body stability to quantify the potential advantages of dance training. Results: We found that the two gait asymmetric indexes during the walking test and the two performance indexes during the one-leg stance tests were better in Latin dancers compared with the healthy control group. The results confirmed the superiority of Latin dancers over the healthy control group in gait symmetry and balance stability. Our results suggest that Latin dancing training could effectively strengthen lower limb muscles and core muscle groups, thereby improving coordination and enhancing gait performance and balance. Conclusion: Latin dance training can benefit gait performance and body balance. Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of Latin dance training on gait and balance outcomes in healthy subjects and patients with gait disorders.