Magnetometer-Free, IMU-Based Foot Progression Angle Estimation for Real-Life Walking Conditions
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering • 2020
Publication Information
Authors
Tian Tan;Zachary A. Strout;Haisheng Xia;Mostafa Orban;Peter B. Shull
Keywords
Wearable sensing
,
foot kinematics
,
gait analysis
,
walking starts
,
walking turns
Journal
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Publisher
IEEE
Volume
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering ( Volume: 29)
Issue
Not Available
Pages
Page(s): 282 - 289
publication.type
International
Paper Link
Not Available
Supplementary Materials
Not Available
Abstract
Foot progression angle (FPA) is vital in many disease assessment and rehabilitation applications, however previous magneto-IMU-based FPA estimation algorithms can be prone to magnetic distortion and inaccuracies after walking starts and turns. This paper presents a foot-worn IMU-based FPA estimation algorithm comprised of three key components: orientation estimation, acceleration transformation, and FPA estimation via peak foot deceleration. Twelve healthy subjects performed two walking experiments to evaluation IMU algorithm performance. The first experiment aimed to validate the proposed algorithm in continuous straight walking tasks across seven FPA gait patterns (large toe-in, medium toe-in, small toe-in, normal, small toe-out, medium toe-out, and large toe-out). The second experiment was performed to evaluate the proposed FPA algorithm for steps after walking starts and turns. Results showed that FPA estimations from the IMU-based algorithm closely followed marker-based system measurements with an overall mean absolute error of 3.1±1.3 deg, and the estimation results were valid for all steps immediately after walking starts and turns. This work could enable FPA assessment in environments where magnetic distortion is present due to ferrous metal structures and electrical equipment, or in real-life walking conditions when walking starts, stops, and turns commonly occur.
Staff Members - Benha University