PORTABLE SINGLE-NODE INERTIAL MEASURING DEVICE, POSITIONED ON THE THORAX FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF KINEMATIC GAIT PARAMETERS

Abstract

The technical problem lies in the lack of a single-sensor system capable of clinically quantifying human gait without requiring multiple sensors on the lower limbs or synthetic reconstruction of body segments. The solution comprises a wearable device with a triaxial inertial measurement unit, an embedded processor, and a body-holding system configured to position the sensor on the anterior chest wall, at the level of the second and third rib notches of the sternum. The procedure implemented in the distributed thoracic inertial signal acquisition and processing system includes: inertial signal acquisition, cascade conditioning in the embedded processor, detection of initial contact and toe-off events at the external interface, and derivation of spatiotemporal and kinematic gait parameters.The main use is the clinical quantification of gait in rehabilitation and neurological and musculoskeletal diagnosis.