The HoloLens Augmented Reality System Provides Valid Measures of Gait Performance in Healthy Adults

Biomechanical measures are the gold standard in the assessment of gait in healthy and chronic disease populations. Augmented reality (AR) systems represent an opportunity to evaluate human movement under more realistic and interactive conditions. A barrier to integrating AR into healthcare is the unknown accuracy of systems in the quantification of human movement. This project aimed to determine the accuracy of the HoloLens relative to three-dimensional motion capture (MoCap) in quantifying gait. Ten healthy adults completed nine walking trials (n = 3 for slow, medium, and fast speed, respectively). Outcome measures included: cumulative walking distance, number of steps, step length, and speed. Statistical equivalence testing, using an a priori threshold of five percent, confirmed biomechanical measures derived from the HoloLens was equivalent to MoCap. Cumulative walking distance from the HoloLens was within 1.5–2.1% of the MoCap system for all walking speeds. Difference between systems in terms of movement accuracy was less than 3.7 cm across trials. Equivalence in outcomes makes the HoloLens appropriate for the quantification of frequently used gait variables to characterize walking performance. Future AR applications have the potential to deliver digital therapeutics to patient populations under more real-world conditions and monitor performance using objective and quantitative outcomes.