Citation

Greene BR, McGrath D, Foran TG, Doheny EP, Caulfield B. Conf. Proc. IEEE Eng. Med. Biol. Soc. 2011; 2011: 6499-6502.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers))

DOI

10.1109/IEMBS.2011.6091732

PMID

22255827

Abstract

Falls in the elderly are a major problem worldwide with enormous associated economic and societal costs. Minimum ground clearance (MGC) is an important gait variable when considering trip-related falls risk. This study aimed to investigate the clinical relevance of inertial sensor derived parameters, previously shown to be related to MGC. Previous research by the authors reported a surrogate method for assessing minimum ground clearance (MGC) using shank-mounted inertial sensors in young controls. The present study tests this method on a cohort of 114 community dwelling elderly adults, with and without a history of falls, completing a 30m continuous walk. Parameters based on the shank angular velocity signals that were shown to be associated with MGC showed significant differences (p<0.05) between fallers and non-fallers yet did not correlate strongly (r<0.7) with two standard measures of falls risk (TUG & BBS). Weak correlations were observed between the angular velocity derived parameters and gait velocity. We conclude that these parameters are clinically meaningful and therefore may constitute a new measure of falls risk.

Language: en