Journal
MEDICAL & BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING & COMPUTING
Volume 59, Issue 7-8, Pages 1575-1583Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11517-021-02410-1
Keywords
Gait; Centre-of-mass; Inverted pendulum model; Postural balance
Categories
Funding
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [11772037]
- Key R&D projects in Shanxi Province [201903D321167]
- National Key R&D Programme of China [2018YFC2001400]
- Beijing Academy of Science and Technology Budding Project [BGS201913]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Accurate evaluation of dynamic walking stability in elderly is crucial for fall prevention. A 2-D analysis method using foot envelope information demonstrated significant differences among healthy young, healthy elderly, and elderly fallers. The study suggests that elderly female fallers have their center-of-masses closer to the foot-supporting boundary at toe-off.
Injuries related with falls are a major health risk for the elderly. Accurate evaluation of the dynamic walking stability of elderly people is the key to fall prevention. A two-dimensional (2-D) model is proposed in this study given that the custom method is mainly focused on the dynamic walking stability along the antero-posterior axis. An inverted pendulum model was utilised to calculate the region of stability at toe-off, and stability conditions were evaluated first along the antero-posterior and medio-lateral axes. The analysis was then extended to the 2-D plane. In the 2-D case, the region of stability was determined based on the use of the information of the envelope of the foot. Twenty-four female participants, categorised as healthy young, healthy elderly, and elderly with a history of falls, were examined. Significant differences among the three groups were demonstrated with the 2-D analysis method, but not in the antero-posterior or medio-lateral analyses. The centre-of-masses of elderly fallers were significantly closer to the foot-supporting boundary compared with that of healthy young and elderly adults at toe-off. A 2-D analysis method using the envelope-of-foot could evaluate the dynamic stability of elderly females based on a more accurate scale.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available