Gait sensor: Movement Monitoring Before Fall

Gait sensor

Nedergaard, Christoffer Lundager

7. term

Electronic and Electrical Engineering

2016

2016-01-07

50

This seventh-semester engineering project addresses the need for more objective gait monitoring in real-world settings to support rehabilitation for patients with gait impairments. Falls are common, particularly among older adults, and measures such as stride variability, gait speed, and foot support time are relevant, with foot support time reported as a predictor of falls. The aim was to develop a wearable sensing device that captures body segment motion and foot support and provides clinicians with “real-life” data for analysis. A prototype was built using an Arduino DUE as the main unit, an SD card for data storage, MPU-6050 MEMS (IMUs) mounted on selected body segments, and an in-shoe foot sensor sponsored by Nordic NeuroSTIM. A custom extension board connects the sensors to the main unit, which is worn at the belt. Sensor data are sampled at fixed intervals and stored unmodified as .csv on the SD card, with attention to avoiding data loss. The thesis covers the problem and requirements analysis and the system, hardware, mechanical, and software design, including an acceptance test section. The excerpt reports the development of a working prototype for collecting gait data; clinical validation or impact on rehabilitation outcomes is not described in the provided material.

Denne 7. semesters ingeniørprojekt undersøger, hvordan gang kan monitoreres mere objektivt i hverdagsmiljøer for at støtte rehabilitering af patienter med gangudfordringer. Baggrunden er, at fald er almindelige, især blandt ældre, og at mål som skridtvariabilitet, ganghastighed og fodstøttetid kan være nyttige, hvor fodstøttetid er vist som en faldprediktor. Projektets formål var at udvikle en bærbar sensorenhed, der måler kropssegmentbevægelser og fodstøtte og leverer “real life”-data til klinisk analyse. Der er konstrueret en prototype med Arduino DUE som hovedenhed, SD-kort til datalagring, MPU-6050 MEMS (IMU’er) placeret på udvalgte kropssegmenter samt en fodsensor sponsoreret af Nordic NeuroSTIM, integreret som et ekstra indlæg i skoen. En specialdesignet udvidelsesprint forbinder sensorerne til hovedenheden, som bæres i bæltet. Sensorerne samples ved faste intervaller, og rådata gemmes uændret som .csv på SD-kortet med fokus på at undgå datatab. Rapporten dækker problem- og kravanalysen samt system-, hardware-, mekanik- og softwaredesign, herunder et accepttestafsnit. Uddraget rapporterer udviklingen af en funktionsdygtig prototype til indsamling af gangdata, mens klinisk validering eller effekt på rehabiliteringsresultater ikke er beskrevet i det tilgængelige materiale.

[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]

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