A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF IMPAIRED AND STANDARDIZED GAIT, FOCUSED ON LOWER EXTREMITIES, USING A MARKERLESS MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM

摘要

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a complex neurological disorder, which currently limits the walking capability in over 750,000 people. By creating a dissonance between the brain and the skeletal muscle system, persons with CP are often unable to generate a regular gait, even with the use of assistive walking devices. While there is not cure to CP, physical therapy is often suggested to assist the patient in adapting to an irregular gait cycle, often referred to as "scissored gait." Modern assistive walking devices assist in the stability of patient as they undergo an impeded locomotion. In an effort to promote the creation of a therapeutic assistive walking device, a study must be conducted to identify the uniqueness of CP gait. Eight subjects were participated in the study with one of eight having a CP. Each subject was participated in three different trials: linear, curvilinear and rhythmic walking using markerless motion capture system with 18 cameras placed throughout a 20'×20'×8' environment to track anatomical links at 60 and 120 frames per second. Averaging and standard deviation techniques were applied on biomedical data to determine if there was statically significant difference in joint angles during seven stages of gait cycle. Extreme amount of abduction on hip and ankle joints were measured in 23.56° and 4.00° respectively in subject with CP. Study also revealed comparative analysis of normal and scissored gait cycles, which will be applied in the development of a robotic assistive walking device to ensure stability and comfort of the patient.