TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Can a single lower trunk body-fixed sensor differentiate between level-walking and stair descent and ascent in older adults? Preliminary findings
JO  - Medical engineering and physics
A1  - Weiss, Aner
A1  - Brozgol, Marina
A1  - Giladi, Nir
A1  - Hausdorff, Jeffrey M.
SP  - 1146
EP  - 1151
VL  - 38
IS  - 10
N2  - Stair ascent and descent are common forms of ambulation that may be challenging to detect. Here, we propose the first step towards differentiating between stair negotiation and level-walking using a single body-fixed sensor. Seventeen healthy older adults (age: 79.3±4.2 years, 47% women) wore a body-fixed sensor on the lower-back while performing level-walking and stair negotiation. Measures derived from the 3D acceleration and angular-velocity signals included medians, ranges, step duration, step and stride regularity, filtered vertical to horizontal acceleration ratio (VAF/HAF), and wavelet-based features. Friedman's and Wilcoxon tests compared between conditions. Stepwise-binary logistic-regression evaluated classification accuracy. During level-walking, yaw range was lowest and anterior-posterior and vertical step and stride regularity were highest (p≤0.007). Anterior-posterior step regularity (p=0.003), VAF/HAF (p=0.094), and yaw range (p=0.105) identified level-walking (92.2% accuracy). During stair ascent, roll range, median anterior-posterior acceleration and anterior-posterior wavelet-coefficient were lowest (p≤0.006), while VAF/HAF was highest (p=0.0029). Anterior posterior wavelet coefficient (p=0.038) and VAF/HAF (p=0.018) identified stair ascent (94.3% accuracy). During stair descent, vertical and medio-lateral ranges were highest and medio-lateral stride regularity and VAF/HAF were lowest (p≤0.006). VAF/HAF (p=0.01), medio-lateral acceleration range (p=0.069), and medio-lateral stride regularity (p=0.072) identified stair descent (90.2% accuracy). These findings suggest that a single worn body-fixed sensor can be used to differentiate between level-walking and stair negotiation.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1350-4533
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.medengphy.2016.07.008
ID  - ref1
ER  -