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Classification of Normal and Pathological Gait in Young Children Based on Foot Pressure Data

Neuroinformatics volume 15, pages 13–24 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Human gait recognition, an active research topic in computer vision, is generally based on data obtained from images/videos. We applied computer vision technology to classify pathology-related changes in gait in young children using a foot-pressure database collected using the GAITRite walkway system. As foot positioning changes with children’s development, we also investigated the possibility of age estimation based on this data. Our results demonstrate that the data collected by the GAITRite system can be used for normal/pathological gait classification. Combining age information and normal/pathological gait classification increases the accuracy of the classifier. This novel approach could support the development of an accurate, real-time, and economic measure of gait abnormalities in children, able to provide important feedback to clinicians regarding the effect of rehabilitation interventions, and to support targeted treatment modifications.

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Acknowledgements

This project was partly supported by IDeA CTR grant NIH/NIGMS Award Number U54GM104942, and a grant from the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Imaging Technology, Beijing, 100048, People’s Republic of China

    Guodong Guo

  2. College of Information Engineering, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Guodong Guo

  3. Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Guodong Guo & Wenbin Chen

  4. Child Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA

    Keegan Guffey

  5. Neurology, Neurocritical care Children’s National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue, Washington, DC, USA

    Paola Pergami

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  1. Guodong Guo
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  2. Keegan Guffey
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Correspondence to Guodong Guo.

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Guo, G., Guffey, K., Chen, W. et al. Classification of Normal and Pathological Gait in Young Children Based on Foot Pressure Data. Neuroinform 15, 13–24 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-016-9313-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12021-016-9313-x

Keywords

  • Normal/pathological gait recognition
  • GAITRite walkway system
  • Medical instrument
  • Health application