A gait analysis data collection and reduction technique

The clinical objective of the gait analysis laboratory, developed by United Technologies Corporation (Hartford, CT, USA) in 1980, at the Newington Children's Hospital is to provide quantified assessments of human locomotion which assist in the orthopaedic management of various pediatric gait pathologies. The motion measurement system utilizes a video-based data collection strategy similar to commercially available systems for motion data collection. Anatomically aligned, passive, retroreflective markers placed on the subject are illuminated, detected, and stored in dedicated camera hardware while data are acquired from force platforms and EMG transducers. Three-dimensional marker position information is used to determine: (i) the orientation of segmentally-embedded coordinate systems, (ii) instantaneous joint center locations, and (iii) joint angles. Joint kinetics, i.e., moments and powers, may also be computed if valid force plate data are collected.