J.L. Pons et al. (Eds.): Converging Clinical & Engi. Research on NR, BIOSYSROB 1, pp. 747751.

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-34546-3_121 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Estimate of Lower Trunk Angles Using
Gyroscope Data in Pathological Gait
*

E. Grimpampi
1,**
, V. Bonnet
1
, A. Taviani
2
, and C. Mazz
1

1
Department of Human Movement and Sport Sciences of the
University of Rome Foro Italico
e.grimpampi@uniroma4.it
2
Dipartimento della Riabilitazione, Asl 11 Empoli, Italy
Abstract. This paper proposes a method based on the use of a Weighted Fourier
Linear Combiner (WFLC) for the estimate of lower trunk angles during
pathological overground level walking using the angular velocities measured at
lower trunk level. The method was validated in a group of 12 patients, 6 with
hemiplegia and 6 with Parkinsons disease, by comparing the estimated angles to
those simultaneously measured with a stereophotogrammetric system. The results
proved that the method is highly accurate in estimating both pitch, roll, and yaw
angles.
1 Introduction
Trunk mobility impairment can cause gait, balance and postural problems. In
patients with stroke, restoration of normal movements of the trunk and pelvis
while walking is a primary goal for ensuring the patient rehabilitation [1].
Attention is given to the upper body movements also in patients with Parkinsons
disease, in which axial rigidity is an evident incapacitating trait responsible for
abnormal walking. Consequently, a quantitative assessment of the trunk
kinematics can be of great support for a therapist [2].
A number of quantitative methods have been proposed for the assessment of
trunk mobility and of related impairments, based on 3D upper body kinematics
measurements [3,4] or on simpler angular velocity and/or linear acceleration
related parameters, as obtained with inertial measurement units (IMUs) [5]. IMUs
have gained in popularity thanks to their ease-of-use, robust design, small
dimensions and relatively low cost. An IMU normally includes accelerometers
and gyroscopes to measure three acceleration and angular velocity components,
respectively. The additional use of magnetometers allows to compensate for drift
related integration errors that limit the possibility to determine an IMU position
and orientation in space by double and single integration of the acceleration and


*
This work was part of the project SIVAM - Wearable Sensors for Motor Ability
Evaluation funded in the framework of the MISE-ICE-CRUI 2010 agreement.
**
Corresponding author.
748 E. Grimpampi et al.

angular velocity signals, respectively. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the
magnetometers is limited by their high sensitivity to magnetic disturbances [6].
Alternative solutions have been proposed, using a Kalman filter approach for the
estimate of the sensor orientation without using the magnetometer data, but they
accurately estimate only two of the three orientation angles [7].
Recently, a data processing procedure that compensates for the above-
mentioned drift and provides an optimal estimation of the 3-D instantaneous
orientation of the IMU and, therefore, of the body segment that it is attached to
has been proposed [8]. This procedure is based on the use of a WFLC adaptive
filter and requires only the measurement of three angular velocities as provided by
three orthogonally mounted gyroscopes [9]. The aim of this paper is to test its
suitability for the estimate of lower trunk angles during overground level walking
in patients with different pathologies starting from gyroscope data measured at
lower trunk level.
2 Materials and Methods
The proposed method is based on the tracking of the three measured angular
velocity components (performed by identifying the corresponding Fourier series
coefficients using the WFLC) followed by an analytical integration of the
identified Fourier series, which provides the sought estimate of the three
orientation angles.
A detailed description of the WFLC method can be found in [8,9], where its
effectiveness in reconstructing the 3D orientation of an IMU located on the lower
trunk of young healthy subjects during treadmill walking has been shown [8,10].
In particular the method provided accurate angle estimations during motions
including phases at variable speed and also for prolonged data recordings.
The WFLC input is the angular velocity signal as measured at an instant of time
k. Depending on the instantaneous difference between the measured and estimated
signals, the Fourier series coefficients that will represent the measured signal at
time k+1 are computed. This result is obtained by adjusting, at each iteration, the
so-called filter weights, using a least mean squares algorithm.
2.1 Experimental Procedures
Twelve older individuals (8 males; age: 736 years; stature: 1.630.08 m; mass:
759 kg) participated in the study after having signed an informed consent. Six of
them suffered from hemiplegia and six from Parkinsons disease. They were asked
to walk at self-selected speed along a 12 m rectilinear pathway. One IMU
(Freesense, Sensorize srl, 100 samples/s), positioned over the lower lumbar spine
of each participant by a waist belt, was used to acquire 3 angular velocity
components in its reference frame (unit local frame, ULF). In addition, three 15
mm diameter retro-reflective markers were attached to the unit case and used to
define a marker-cluster local frame (MLF). The marker trajectories were
reconstructed using a stereophotogrammetric system (Vicon 612, 100 frame/s, 6
cameras).
Estimate of Lower Trunk Angles Using Gyroscope Data in Pathological Gait 749

Pitch, roll and yaw angles, describing the orientation of the ULF were
estimated from the IMU data using the WFLC approach (estimated) and those
describing the orientation of the MLF were reconstructed using photogrammetric
data (reference). Pitch, roll and yaw angles were associated to the lower trunk
frontal and lateral bending and axial rotation, respectively. To compare the
estimated and reference angles, the time-invariant offset of the MLF orientation
relative to the ULF orientation was mathematically removed through a rigid
transformation while the subject was standing still.
2.2 Assessment of the Estimates Accuracy
The accuracy of the estimated angles was assessed by comparing them to the
reference values by computing the root mean square difference (RMSD), and the
correlation coefficients (r) between the corresponding angle time histories,
together with the offset values (computed as the difference between the mean
values of the corresponding angles). These values were computed only for the part
of the trial in which the stereophotogrammetric instrumental error was less than 1
deg. As a consequence, the number of investigated gait cycles varied from subject
to subject.
3 Results
As it can be seen from Fig. 1, the algorithm provided reliable estimates for all the
3 angles of interest.


Fig. 1 Estimated (red lines) versus reference (black lines) angles as recorded during 1 trial
of a randomly selected patient with Parkinsons disease
The average RMS, r and offset values for all subjects are reported in Table 1.
All the investigated angles were estimated with average correlation coefficients of
about 0.80 (with the highest values found for the roll angle). An average offset of
less than 2.5 deg was found, with the lowest values observed for the roll angle.
The average RMS was lower than 1 deg for the pitch and roll angles and of 1.5
deg for the yaw angle.
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Table 1 Accuracy of the angles Estimates
Angle
(deg)
RMS
(deg)
r
OFFSET
(deg)
Roll 0.60.2 0.850.11 1.30.8
Pitch 0.80.4 0.790.17 1.31.1
Yaw 1.40.6 0.780.18 2.31.6
4 Discussion
The WFLC method was shown to be accurate in providing a drift-less estimate of
the 3 lower trunk angles during pathological overground level walking. These results
are particularly satisfactory considering that the signals were available during short
intervals of time, due to the limits imposed by the stereophotogrammetric system.
The WFLC approach, in fact, is well known to perform at its best when longer
lasting signals are processed.
No evident differences were observed between the two investigated
pathologies, but a larger number of subjects is needed to confirm this hypothesis.
5 Conclusion
The WFLC is a promising tool for the estimate of the lower trunk lateral and
sagittal bending and axial rotation angles using only the measurement of angular
velocity data.

Acknowledgment. The support by Gabriele Paolini and John McCamley during the
experimental sessions is gratefully acknowledged.
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