Title
Data-Driven Investigation of Gait Patterns in Individuals Affected by Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
Abstract
Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a chronic and progressive disease that affects predominantly elderly subjects. The most prevalent symptoms are gait disorders, generally determined by visual observation or measurements taken in complex laboratory environments. However, controlled testing environments can have a significant influence on the way subjects walk and hinder the identification of natural walking characteristics. The study aimed to investigate the differences in walking patterns between a controlled environment (10 m walking test) and real-world environment (72 h recording) based on measurements taken via a wearable gait assessment device. We tested whether real-world environment measurements can be beneficial for the identification of gait disorders by performing a comparison of patients' gait parameters with an aged-matched control group in both environments. Subsequently, we implemented four machine learning classifiers to inspect the individual strides' profiles. Our results on twenty young subjects, twenty elderly subjects and twelve NPH patients indicate that patients exhibited a considerable difference between the two environments, in particular gait speed (p-value p=0.0073), stride length (p-value p=0.0073), foot clearance (p-value p=0.0117) and swing/stance ratio (p-value p=0.0098). Importantly, measurements taken in real-world environments yield a better discrimination of NPH patients compared to the controlled setting. Finally, the use of stride classifiers provides promise in the identification of strides affected by motion disorders.
Year
DOI
Venue
2021
10.3390/s21196451
SENSORS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
hydrocephalus, gait analysis, kinematic measurement, machine learning, neural network, regression analysis, wearable sensors
Journal
21
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
19
1424-8220
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
6