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Purpose: To characterise dynamic postural stability of gait in patients with vestibular hypofunction (PwVH) using a sensor-based assessment while performing dynamic tasks and to correlate the results of this evaluation with clinical scales. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 22 adults between 18 and 70 years old from a healthcare hospital centre. Eleven patients suffering from chronic vestibular hypofunction (PwVH) and eleven healthy controls (HC) were evaluated through a combined inertial sensor-based and clinical scale assessment. Participants were equipped with five synchronised inertial measurement units (IMUs) (128 Hz, Opal, APDM, Portland, OR, USA): three IMUs were located on the occipital cranium bone, near the lambdoid suture of the head, at the centre of the sternum, and at L4/L5 level, just above the pelvis, and were used to quantify gait quality parameters, while the other two were located slightly above lateral malleoli and used to perform stride and step segmentation. Three different motor tasks were performed in a randomized order: the 10-m Walk Test (10mWT), the Figure of Eight Walk Test (Fo8WT) and the Fukuda Stepping Test (FST). A set of gait quality parameters related to stability, symmetry and smoothness of gait were extracted from IMU data and correlated with the clinical scale scores. PwVH and HC results were compared to test for significant between-group differences. Results: Significant differences were found for the three motor tasks (10mWT, Fo8WT and FST) when comparing PwVH and HC groups. For the 10mWT and the Fo8WT, significant differences between the PwVH and HC groups were found for the stability indexes. Considering the FST, significant differences between the PwVH and HC groups were also found in the stability and symmetry of gait. A significant correlation was found between the Dizziness Handicap Inventory and gait indices during the Fo8WT. Conclusions: In this study, we characterized the dynamic postural stability alterations during linear, curved, and blindfolded walking/stepping in PwVH combining an instrumental IMU-based with traditional clinical scales approach. Combining instrumental and clinical evaluation for dynamic stability of gait alterations in PwVH is useful in thoroughly evaluating the effects of unilateral vestibular hypofunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Kicking a ball is a very frequent action in sport and leisure time activities and a low proficiency in this skill could limit the participation in recreational sport activities. This issue is emphasised in individuals with Down syndrome (IDS) for which data about motor competence in kicking are limited to children. Here, we aim at evaluating the kicking competence of IDS combining a qualitative and a quantitative method. Methods: Twenty‐three adult IDS and 21 typically developed individuals (ITD) volunteered to participate in the study. Peak‐to‐peak 3D linear acceleration and angular velocity were recorded at 200 samples/s using two inertial measurement units placed on the lower back and lateral malleolus of the dominant limb during kicking. Motor competence in kicking was assessed according to the criteria proposed in the test of gross motor development version 3 (TGMD‐3). Results: Individuals with Down syndrome showed lower motor competence (ITD: 5.9 ± 1.2; IDS: 3.2 ± 2.0) and lower angular velocities about the cranio‐caudal (ITD: 3.0 ± 1.8; IDS: 2.1 ± 1.1 rad/s) and medio‐lateral axes (ITD: 4.5 ± 1.5; IDS: 3.0 ± 1.1 rad/s) of the trunk compared with ITD. Shank angular velocity about the medio‐lateral axis was lower in IDS (ITD: 14.3.6 ± 4.0; IDS: 9.9 ± 2.8 rad/s). Conclusions: The lower trunk angular velocity in IDS may limit the possibility to rely on the proximal‐to‐distal sequencing commonly observed in kicking and generate high shank angular velocity upon ball impact. The lower trunk angular velocity may result from orthopaedic features of the pelvic girdle and possibly from a poorer neuromuscular control of core muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing movement skills is a fundamental issue in motor development. Current process-oriented assessments, such as developmental sequences, are based on subjective judgments; if paired with quantitative assessments, a better understanding of movement performance and developmental change could be obtained. Our purpose was to examine the use of inertial sensors to evaluate developmental differences in hopping over distance. Forty children executed the task wearing the inertial sensor and relevant time durations and 3D accelerations were obtained. Subjects were also categorized in different developmental levels according to the hopping developmental sequence. Results indicated that some time and kinematic parameters changed with some developmental levels, possibly as a function of anthropometry and previous motor experience. We concluded that, since inertial sensors were suitable in describing hopping performance and sensitive to developmental changes, this technology is promising as an in-field and user-independent motor development assessment tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Computing 3D sCoM acceleration: i following Pillet et al. ([3]), a 15-segment subject-specific inertial model, personalized using calibrated photographs in a static posture, is used to obtain the sCoM positions in an OMCS reference frame Graph HT ht The MIMU positions are manually identified on the photographs, which allows to compute their relative position with respect to the sCoM (Graph HT ht ) in Graph HT ht The transformation matrix from Graph HT ht to Graph HT ht can be approximated at the beginning of each acquisition using the a priori known static posture and manual alignment of MIMUs on the segments. [Extracted from the article]

Magneto-Inertial measurement units (MIMUs) are wearable sensors that allow BCoM kinematics assessment in every-day life conditions (Pavei et al. 2020): first, the BCoM acceleration can be obtained from a weighted average of segments' center of mass (sCoM) accelerations, using MIMUs located on the segments, and then, the BCoM trajectory is estimated by integration of the obtained acceleration. SCoM accelerations were obtained from OMC, and reference BCoM acceleration was obtained using the abovementioned inertial model. [Extracted from the article]

Keywords: Harmonic ratio; gait symmetry; lower-limb amputation; inertial measurement units EN Harmonic ratio gait symmetry lower-limb amputation inertial measurement units S221 S223 3 01/29/21 20191002 NES 191002 1. Nevertheless, despite its role in the computation of iHR, the impact of the stride segmentation method has never been addressed, especially in people characterized by high gait asymmetry, such as people with lower- limb amputation. [Extracted from the article]

The current study aimed to evaluate physical training effects. For this purpose, a classifier was implemented by taking into account biomechanical features selected from force-plate measurements and a neurofuzzy algorithm for data management and relevant decision-making. Measurements included two sets of sit-to-stand (STS) trials involving two homogeneous groups, experimental and control, of elders. They were carried out before and after a 12-week heavy resistance strength-training program undergone by the experimental group. Pre- and post-training differences were analysed, and percentages of membership to "trained" and "untrained" fuzzy sets calculated. The method was shown to be appropriate for detecting significant training-related changes. Detection accuracy was higher than 87%. Slightly weaker results were obtained using a neural approach, suggesting the need for a larger sample size. In conclusion, the use of a set of biomechanical features and of a neurofuzzy algorithm allowed to propose a global score for evaluating the effectiveness of a specific training program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Helia is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Helia is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Helia is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Helia is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Helia is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Musculoskeletal system models aimed at assessing activity limitation and impairment of a specific individual in the domain of mobility are presented. A thorough biomechanical analysis of selected motor tasks would be effective but awkward to apply in clinical practice by reason of the complexity of both instrumentation and experimental protocols. Therefore, different methods are proposed that entail the measurement of a minimum number of biomechanical variables. However, since data thus obtained do not necessarily lend themselves to straightforward interpretation, they are fed to models of the musculoskeletal system that embody the invariant aspects of both the modelled system and the specific motor task (minimum measured-input models). Two different sets of mathematical models are presented that aim at assessing activity limitation and establishing a relationship between this limitation and impairment, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]