Leg Motion Analysis During Gait by Multiaxial Accelerometry: Theoretical Foundations and Preliminary Validations

A theoretical formulation for studying limb motions and joint kinetics by multiaxial accelerometry is developed. The technique is designed to study the swing phase of human gait, modeling the lower leg as a rigid body. Major advantages of the approach are that acceleration information needed for the calculation of forces and moments is generated directly, and that the method automatically generates its own initial conditions. Results of validation experiments using both artificial and experimental data demonstrate that the method is theoretically valid, but that it taxes available instrumentation and requires further development before it can be applied in a clinical setting.