A good and commonly used way to assess quality of gait is the assessment of spatiotemporal gait parameters under supervised conditions. Typically large and expensive research set-ups are required in order to obtain such detailed parameters. The GaitTest instrumented by the MoveTest offers a convenient and relatively cheap solution. The GaitTest is executed using a straight walking trajectory over a customizable distance to fit the available space.
In order to successfully analyse data from gait trajectories, data should be obtained during a steady-state and straight walking trajectory. Trajectory lengths between 10 and 50 meters are possible. ‘Steady-state’ implies that acceleration and deceleration at both ends of the trajectory should be excluded from the dataset. For that purpose markers for marking the begin and end of the steady-state trajectory should be placed into the dataset. McRoberts' online portal provides a convenient way for placing markers in the data through the use of a Bluetooth pointer. The MoveTest software automatically excludes data outside these markers in order to return clean parameters resulting from analysis on steady-state gait data only. For a detailed explanation on a research set-up click here.
