Validity of Hip and Ankle Worn Actigraph Accelerometers for Measuring Steps as a Function of Gait Speed during Steady State Walking and Continuous Turning

This study aimed to investigate the accuracy and reliability of hip and ankle worn Actigraph GT3X+ (AG) accelerometers to measure steps as a function of gait speed. Additionally, the effect of the low frequency extension filter (LFEF) on the step accuracy was determined. Thirty healthy individuals walked straight and walked with continuous turns in different gait speeds. Number of steps were recorded with a hip and ankle worn AG, and with a Stepwatch (SW) activity monitor positioned around the right ankle, which was used as a reference for step count. The percentage agreement, interclass correlation coefficients and Bland-Altmann plots were determined between the AG and the reference SW across gait speeds for the two walking conditions. The ankle worn AG with the default filter was the most sensitive for step detection at >0.6 m/s, whilst accurate step detection for gait speeds < 0.6 m/s were only observed when applying the LFEF. The hip worn AG with the default filter showed poor accuracy (12-78%) at gait speeds < 1.0 m/s whereas the accuracy increased to >87% for gait speeds < 1.0 m/s when applying the LFEF. Ankle worn AG was the most sensitive to measure steps at a vast range of gait speeds. Our results suggest that sensor placement and filter settings need to be taken into account to provide accurate estimates of step counts.

Automated summary

This study investigated the accuracy and reliability of hip and ankle worn Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers to measure steps at different gait speeds, finding that sensor placement and filter settings play a crucial role in accurate step count estimates. Ankle worn AG was shown to be the most sensitive for step detection across a wide range of gait speeds.