Article

A novel method is presented to detect real-time gait phases based on ground
contact forces (GCFs) measured by force sensitive resistors (FSRs). The
traditional threshold method (TM) sets a threshold to divide the GCFs into
on-ground and off-ground statuses. However, TM is neither an adaptive nor
real-time method. The threshold setting is based on body weight or the maximum
and minimum GCFs in the gait cycles, resulting in different thresholds needed for
different walking conditions. Additionally, the maximum and minimum GCFs are only
obtainable after data processing. Therefore, this paper proposes a proportion
method (PM) that calculates the sums and proportions of GCFs wherein the GCFs are
obtained from FSRs. A gait analysis is then implemented by the proposed gait
phase detection algorithm (GPDA). Finally, the PM reliability is determined by
comparing the detection results between PM and TM. Experimental results
demonstrate that the proposed PM is highly reliable in all walking conditions. In
addition, PM could be utilized to analyze gait phases in real time. Finally, PM
exhibits strong adaptability to different walking conditions.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS