Walking Speed Measurement Technology: a Review

This article presents an overview of the main technologies used to estimate gait parameters, focusing on walking speed (WS).Recent FindingsNew wearable and environmental technologies to estimate WS have been developed in the last 5 years. Wearable technologies refer to sensors attached to parts of the patient ’s body that capture the kinematics during walking. Alternatively, environmental technologies capture walking patterns using external instrumentation. In this review, wearable and external technologies have been included. From the different works reviewed, external technologies face the challenge of implementation outside controlled facilities, an advantage that wearable technologies have, but have not been fully explored. Additionally, systems that can track WS changes in daily activities, especially at-home assessments, have not been developed.SummaryWalking speed is a gait parameter that can provide insight into an individual ’s health status. Image-based, walkways, wearable, and floor-vibration technologies are the most current used technologies for estimating WS. In this paper, research from the last 5 years that explore each technology’s capabilities on WS estimation and an evaluation of their technical and clinic al aspects is presented.
Source: Current Geriatrics Reports - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research