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Abstract
This study investigated the possibility of using uni-axial gyroscopes to develop a
simple portable gait analysis system. Gyroscopes were attached on the skin surface
of the shank and thigh segments and the angular velocity for each segment was recorded
in each segment. Segment inclinations and knee angle were derived from segment angular
velocities. The angular signals from a motion analysis system were used to evaluate
the angular velocities and the derived signals from the gyroscopes. There was a good
correlation between these signals. When performing a turn the signals of segment inclination
and knee angle drifted. Two methods were used to solve this: automatically resetting
the system to re-initialise the angle in each gait cycle, and high-pass filtering.
They both successfully corrected this drift. A single gyroscope on the shank segment
could provide information on segment inclination range, cadence, number of steps,
and an estimation of stride length and walking speed.