Design and validation of a multi-task, multi-phase protocol for real-world gait simulation
Abstract
Abstract Background: Measuring mobility in daily life entails dealing with confounding factors arising from multiple sources, including pathological characteristics, patient specific walking strategies, environment/context, and purpose of the task. The primary aim of this study is to propose and validate a multi-task and multi-phase protocol for simulating real-world gait accounting for all these factors within a single set of observations carried out within a limited laboratory space, while ensuring minimisation of participant burden and safety.Methods: The protocol included eight motor tasks at varying speed, incline/steps, surface, path shape, cognitive demand, and included postures that may abruptly alter the participants’ strategy of walking. It was deployed in a convenience sample of 108 participants recruited from six cohort groups that included older healthy adults (HA) and participants with potentially altered mobility due to Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Proximal Femoral Fracture (PFF), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). A novelty introduced in the protocol was the tiered approach to increase difficulty both within the same task (e.g., by allowing use of aids or armrests) and across tasks.Results: The protocol proved to be safe and feasible and the addition of the more complex tasks allowed a much greater spread in walking speeds to be achieved compared to standard straight walking trials. Furthermore, it allowed a relatively realistic representation of daily life relevant mobility aspects and can therefore be used for the validation of monitoring devices used in real life.Conclusions: The suitability of the protocol for measuring gait in a variety of pathological conditions suggests that it can also be used to detect changes in gait due to, for example, the onset or progression of a disease, or due to therapy.Trial registration: ISRCTN – 12246987.
Authors 43
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Insigneo · University of Sheffield
Affiliation as printed
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield
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Insigneo · University of Sheffield
Affiliation as printed
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Insigneo · University of Sheffield
Affiliation as printed
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield
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Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv
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University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel
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Affiliation as printed
Robert Bosch Gesellschaft für Medizinische Forschung, Stuttgart
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Affiliation as printed
Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Sassari
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering «Guglielmo Marconi», University of Bologna, Bologna
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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuroscience and Sheffield NIHR Translational Neuroscience BRC, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield
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University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel
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Affiliation as printed
Robert Bosch Gesellschaft für Medizinische Forschung, Stuttgart
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Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
Affiliation as printed
Center for the Study of Movement, Cognition and Mobility, Neurological Institute, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Affiliation as printed
Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Affiliation as printed
Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab, Department of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen
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École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Affiliation as printed
Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne
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University College Dublin · Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics
Affiliation as printed
Insight Centre for Data Analytics, University College Dublin, Dublin
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Affiliation as printed
Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab, Department of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Novartis (Switzerland) · Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
Affiliation as printed
Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research, Novartis Pharma AG, Basel
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Affiliation as printed
McRoberts BV, The Hague
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering «Guglielmo Marconi», University of Bologna, Bologna
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Affiliation as printed
Digital Health R&D, AstraZeneca
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University College Dublin · Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics
Affiliation as printed
Insight Centre for Data Analytics, University College Dublin, Dublin
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Affiliation as printed
Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab, Department of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen
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Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
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Affiliation as printed
Grünenthal GmbH, Aachen
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Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Affiliation as printed
Department of Neuroscience and Sheffield NIHR Translational Neuroscience BRC, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield
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University College Dublin · Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics
Affiliation as printed
Insight Centre for Data Analytics, University College Dublin, Dublin
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Barcelona Institute for Global Health
Affiliation as printed
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona
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Barcelona Institute for Global Health
Affiliation as printed
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona
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Barcelona Institute for Global Health
Affiliation as printed
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona
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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Affiliation as printed
Machine Learning and Data Analytics Lab, Department of Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen
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Affiliation as printed
Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Turin
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Insigneo · University of Sheffield
Affiliation as printed
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Insigneo Institute for in silico Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield
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