Quantifying dynamic characteristics of human walking for comprehensive gait cycle

Carlotta Mummolo, Luigi Mangialardi, Joo H. Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Normal human walking typically consists of phases during which the body is statically unbalanced while maintaining dynamic stability. Quantifying the dynamic characteristics of human walking can provide better understanding of gait principles. We introduce a novel quantitative index, the dynamic gait measure (DGM), for comprehensive gait cycle. The DGM quantifies the effects of inertia and the static balance instability in terms of zero-moment point and ground projection of center of mass and incorporates the timevarying foot support region (FSR) and the threshold between static and dynamic walking. Also, a framework of determining the DGM from experimental data is introduced, in which the gait cycle segmentation is further refined. A multisegmental foot model is integrated into a biped system to reconstruct the walking motion from experiments, which demonstrates the time-varying FSR for different subphases. The proof-of-concept results of the DGM from a gait experiment are demonstrated. The DGM results are analyzed along with other established features and indices of normal human walking. The DGM provides a measure of static balance instability of biped walking during each (sub) phase as well as the entire gait cycle. The DGM of normal human walking has the potential to provide some scientific insights in understanding biped walking principles, which can also be useful for their engineering and clinical applications.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number091006
JournalJournal of Biomechanical Engineering
Volume135
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Dynamic gait measure (DGM)
  • Dynamic walking
  • Static balance instability
  • Zero-moment point (ZMP)

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Physiology (medical)

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