Quantification of gait features in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis using an acceleration sensor

Abstract

A simple method for detection and quantification of intermittent claudication in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is important to aid in diagnosis and serves as a good index for post-treatment evaluation decisions. A 6-minute walk test was performed by patients with LSS and healthy volunteers using a 3-axis acceleration sensor. The averaged acceleration values of the antero-posterior direction (AA) and the Lissajous index (LI), an index of left-right symmetry, were calculated for each minute from the measured acceleration data, and the healthy volunteers and patients with LSS were compared over time. No change in left-right symmetry associated with continued walking was found in healthy volunteers, but the left-right symmetry gradually collapsed in patients with LSS. Change over time in antero-posterior movement associated with continued walking was not observed in healthy volunteers, but acceleration of the posterior direction increased as the walking time increased in patients with LSS. These results suggest that changes over time in LI and AA may serve as indices to capture intermittent claudication in patients with LSS. Our findings suggest that changes in LI and AA over time may aid in diagnosis and be useful for preoperative and postoperative evaluation.