Understanding gait analysis: variability of data collected with a pressure sensitive walkway

Rincon Alvarez, Javier (2021) Understanding gait analysis: variability of data collected with a pressure sensitive walkway. MVM(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This research is focused on two aspects of pressure sensitive walkways. The first being the general calibration process, which was evaluated in a pilot study. The second being a study of reliability (repeatability and reproducibility) of two manufacturer recommended calibration protocols assessing canine gait.

Force plates are considered to be the gold standard method of kinetic gait analysis. Although pressure sensitive walkways produce comparable results to force plates, there is great variability in the results reported amongst pressure sensitive walkway studies. Several factors may lead to the aforementioned variability, which are also common in force plate studies. One of most important, and perhaps least evaluated, is calibration methodology. Calibration methodology of a pressure sensitive walkway is more complicated than the calibration of a force plate and has indeed been less well evaluated.

Different calibration methods have led to variability in results in previous pressure sensitive walkway studies. It has been suggested that calibration weight may be a source of this variability. The present pilot study evaluated two calibration protocols in different experiments, including static weight and dynamic gait assessment. Results of this pilot study suggested that calibration pressure (i.e. force applied over a specific area) may be more important than calibration weight.

In the clinical study we assessed two manufacturer recommended calibration protocols, human and phantom step calibration, performed by three different operators. Results of this clinical study showed that both calibration protocols were highly repeatable and highly reproducible. Although the results obtained with both calibration protocols were statistically different, they were linearly and strongly correlated, making it possible to be directly compared by applying a correction factor. The use of different operators when calibrating a pressure walkway did not influence the results.

In summary, this Master project contributes detailed and meaningful information about the effect of calibration on pressure sensitive walkway results. Based on these results, a specific calibration protocol cannot be recommended, but based on personal experience the use of a phantom during the calibration process may help stability and therefore improve the calibration process overall.

• Item Type: Thesis (MVM(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: S Agriculture > SF Animal culture > SF600 Veterinary Medicine
• Colleges/Schools: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Supervisor's Name: Corr, Professor Sandra
• Date of Award: 2021
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2021-82406
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 03 Sep 2021 11:26
• Last Modified: 03 Sep 2021 11:28
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.82406
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/82406

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