Assessing gait of humans in their natural living environment; an ecological mobility perspective

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Background: My research focuses on developing systems (both hardware and software) more suited to assess gait in the natural living environment using Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). Objectives: The long-term objective is to provide a fully autonomous system to capture the quantity and quality of gait in an ecological setting using gear and kinematic outcome measures specifically adapted to such environment.  Short-term objectives (STOs), for the next five years, will aim to assess the accuracy of available spatiotemporal gait parameters measured by an inertial motion capture system during ecological mobility, as well a design and test the performance of novel outcome measures to assess gait and turn quality that are specifically adapted for such ecological mobility. Methods: STO #1: healthy participants will be equipped with inertial sensors on their head, trunk, lower back, as well as both their thighs, shanks and ankles. A 36-camera VICON system will be used as the gold standard. Its markers will be positioned on both lower limbs (thighs, knees, tibias, ankles and base of the second toes), on the iliac (anterior and posterior), and on the pelvis to enable gait kinematics assessment. Participants will be asked to move freely for periods of five minutes in a simulated apartment to pickup objects and carrying them to specific location, forcing them to perform different gait patterns. Data from both systems will be compared and see how they behave in time and space. STO #2: we will adapt or create innovative gait outcome measures using raw inertial signals and orientation data available from the above experiment that will be specifically adapted to ecological mobility assessment. STO #3: investigate the impact of time and task sequence on the new novel gait outcome measures developed in STO #2. Participants equipped with both inertial and VICON sensors will navigate freely in the simulated apartment described in STO #1, so as to test the validity and accuracy of the novel gait outcome measures developed in STO #2. Impact of this research: The proposed research program will deliver on multiple fronts; the short-term impact will be to provide gait kinematic outcome measures specifically designed for ecological mobility. The long-term impact is to provide a fully autonomous system using inertial sensors to capture the quantity and quality of human mobility in an ecological setting. Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) Training: My research program will provide ample opportunities to HQPs to train in this emerging field of research by getting access to solid research infrastructures in a highly motivated lab environment. HQPs will have access to my laboratories located at the Montreal Geriatric Institute, a world-renowned research facility, as well as my kinematics lab at UQAM. They will have access to state-of-the-art motion capture equipment I obtained through two Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grants.