Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
right lower limb, which suggests compensation between the
two limbs.
In our study, the best regressions, taking into account age
and speed, are obtained for data in the sagittal plane. This is
consistent with the results of Stansfield [STA 06]. Other
methods of assessing the differences between healthy and
pathologic gait in children have been proposed in the
literature [BAK 09, BAR 12, SCH 08], but proposing “targets
to reach” seems like an interesting alternative from a
graphical point of view, which allows the joint moments to be
integrated, something that has rarely been considered.
Applying this method to more pathologic cases will of course
be required to confirm the clinical potential of this approach.
In conclusion, with a total of more than 100 children aged
between 1 and 7 years old and a total of 1,253 gait trials, a
large database for the gait of healthy children was built.
Several approaches have been considered to make use of this
database. Taking walking speed into account has allowed us
to update conclusions about the maturation of gait in young
children, differing in the literature. Two “key ages” have
been revealed: 4 and 6 years old for the maturation of the
ankle and the hip joints, respectively. Regression models
taking into account age, walking speed and their interaction
have been proposed for all kinematic and dynamic
parameters of gait to help compare the “target values” with
the peaks of curves of the unhealthy children. These
reference data are unique across such a young population
and large sample size.
5.2. Upper limb, assessment of functional movements
The development of quantified gait analysis, particularly
for clinical applications, has led to a growing interest among
researchers and clinicians with regard to the use of these
tools in the motion analysis of the upper limb, especially in
