Validity and Reliability of the GAITWell®: A Portable Modular System for Gait Analysis
Version 2 : Received: 15 October 2024 / Approved: 15 October 2024 / Online: 15 October 2024 (12:10:58 CEST)
How to cite: Dias, W. D.; Kirkwood, R.; Brito, I. C.; Capanema, I. O.; Sesselmann, M.; Vimieiro, C. B. S.; Huebner, R. Validity and Reliability of the GAITWell®: A Portable Modular System for Gait Analysis. Preprints 2024, 2024061386. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1386.v2 Dias, W. D.; Kirkwood, R.; Brito, I. C.; Capanema, I. O.; Sesselmann, M.; Vimieiro, C. B. S.; Huebner, R. Validity and Reliability of the GAITWell®: A Portable Modular System for Gait Analysis. Preprints 2024, 2024061386. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202406.1386.v2
Abstract
Background: Gait analysis systems are crucial for rehabilitation but are often time-consuming and less accessible in low and middle-income countries like Brazil. GAITWell® was developed to address these challenges with its modular and portable design for automated gait data extraction and analysis. This study evaluates its methodological properties. Methods: GAITWell® uses discrete binary sensors on interconnected plates to collect gait data, analyzed via the DBSCAN algorithm. Each plate measures 44 cm x 37 cm and features an 11 x 7 discrete sensor array with 4 cm spacing. Test-retest reliability was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of the mean (SEM), and Bland-Altman plots. Concurrent validity was evaluated by comparing the GAITWell® measurements with those obtained from the Qualisys Pro-Reflex through correlations. Results: Participated 38 healthy young adults, including 18 females (47.4%). The sample had an average age of 33.2 years (SD 13.0) and an average BMI of 26.6 kg/m² (SD 5.4). Correlations between GAITWell® and Qualisys ranged from moderate to very high for most gait variables, except stride length (r = .360, p < .05). ICC2,1 showed moderate to good agreement for most variables, except for double support times, cadence, and base of support. Preliminary analysis suggests that increasing the sensor resolution to 1.2 cm x 1.2 cm could potentially decrease the measurement error from 2 cm to 0.6 cm, representing a theoretical reduction of 70%. Conclusions: While low resolution affected GAITWell® reliability, it remains a promising tool. Future research should focus on enhancing sensor accuracy to improve reliability.
Keywords
gait analysis; spatiotemporal variables; validity; reliability; clustering; discrete sensors
Subject
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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