Gait research and clinical gait training may benefit from movement-dependent event control, that is, technical applications in which events such as obstacle appearance or visual/acoustic cueing are (co)determined online on the basis of... more
Gait research and clinical gait training may benefit from movement-dependent event control, that is, technical applications in which events such as obstacle appearance or visual/acoustic cueing are (co)determined online on the basis of current gait properties. A prerequisite for successful gait-dependent event control is accurate online detection of gait events such as foot contact (FC) and foot off (FO). The objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility of online FC and FO detection using a single large force platform embedded in a treadmill. Center-of-pressure, total force output and kinematic data were recorded simultaneously in 12 healthy participants. Online FC and FO estimates and spatial and temporal gait parameters estimated from the force platform data--i.e., center-of-pressure profiles--were compared to offline kinematic counterparts, which served as the gold standard. Good correspondence was achieved between online FC detections using center-of-pressure profiles and those derived offline from kinematic data, whereas FO was detected 31 ms too late. A good relative and absolute agreement was achieved for both spatial and temporal gait parameters, which was improved further by applying more fine-grained FO estimation procedures using characteristic local minima in the total force output time series. These positive results suggest that the proposed system for gait-dependent event control may be successfully implemented in gait research as well as gait interventions in clinical practice.
Research Interests: Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Biomechanics, Locomotion, and 15 moreEvent Detection, Clinical Practice, Gait, Humans, Female, Male, Data Center, Gold Standard, Local minima, Mechanical Stress, Adult, Equipment Design, Exercise Test, Equipment Failure Analysis, and Center of Pressure
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Engineering, Cognition, Gait, Humans, Walking, and 19 moreFemur, Female, Male, Physical sciences, Stability Analysis, Root-Mean Square Error, Coefficient of Variation, Dual Task, Amputees, Stochastic dynamics, Aged, Middle Aged, Adult, Local stability, Indexation, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Mechanical Processes, Case Control Studies, and Scaling Exponent
Research Interests: Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Spine, Low back pain, Fourier Analysis, and 25 moreGait, Humans, Walking, Gait Analysis, Fixed Point Theory, Dynamic Systems Theory, Female, Thorax, Male, Oscillations, Periodicity, Clinical Sciences, Phase Locking, Aged, Middle Aged, Gait and Posture, Pelvis, Dynamical Systems Theory, Phase measurement, Adult, Ataxia, Rotation, Exercise Test, Pain Measurement, and Biomechanical Phenomena
Meta-analyses showed that psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, antiepileptic drugs) and some cardiac drugs (digoxin, type IA anti-arrhythmics, diuretics) are associated with increased fall risk. Because... more
Meta-analyses showed that psychotropic drugs (antidepressants, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, antiepileptic drugs) and some cardiac drugs (digoxin, type IA anti-arrhythmics, diuretics) are associated with increased fall risk. Because balance and gait disorders are the most consistent predictors of future falls, falls due to use of these so-called fall-risk-increasing drugs (FRIDs) might be partly caused by impairments of postural control that these drugs can induce. Therefore, the effects of FRIDs on postural control were examined by reviewing literature. Electronic databases and reference lists of identified papers were searched until June 2013. Only controlled research papers examining the effects of FRIDs on postural control were included. FRIDs were defined according to meta-analyses as antidepressants, neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, antiepileptic drugs, digoxin, type IA anti-arrhythmics, and diuretics. Ninety-four papers were included, of which study methods for quantifying postural control, and the effects of FRIDs on postural control were abstracted. Postural control was assessed with a variety of instruments, mainly evaluating aspects of body sway during quiet standing. In general, postural control was impaired, indicated by an increase in parameters quantifying body sway, when using psychotropic FRIDs. The effects were more pronounced when people were of a higher age, used psychotropics at higher daily doses, with longer half-lives, and administered for a longer period. From the present literature review, it can be concluded that psychotropic drugs cause impairments in postural control, which is probably one of the mediating factors for the increased fall risk these FRIDs are associated with. The sedative effects of these drugs on postural control are reversible, as was proven in intervention studies where FRIDs were withdrawn. The findings of the present literature review highlight the importance of using psychotropic drugs in the older population only at the lowest effective dose and for a limited period of time.