Gait metrics — measures like strolling velocity, step size, and double assist time (i.e., the proportion of gait cycle when each ft are on the bottom) — are recognized to be important biomarkers for assessing an individual’s general well being, danger of falling, and development of neurological or musculoskeletal circumstances. Analyzing how an individual walks, generally known as gait evaluation, affords helpful, non-invasive insights into normal well-being, accidents, and well being considerations.
Traditionally, measuring gait required costly, specialised laboratory gear, making steady monitoring impractical. Whereas smartphones now provide a conveyable various utilizing their embedded inertial measurement items (IMUs), they demand exact placement — comparable to a thigh pocket or belt — for essentially the most correct outcomes. In distinction, smartwatches are worn on the wrist in a hard and fast location. This gives a way more sensible and constant platform for steady monitoring, even increasing the monitoring window to phone-less eventualities like strolling round the home.
Regardless of this important logistical benefit, smartwatches have traditionally lagged behind smartphones in complete gait metric analysis. In our work, “Smartwatch-Primarily based Strolling Metrics Estimation“, we sought to bridge this hole. We demonstrated that shopper smartwatches are a extremely viable, correct, and dependable platform for estimating a complete suite of spatio-temporal gait metrics, with efficiency akin to smartphone-based strategies.
