Best Practice Use Of Wearable Accelerometers In Gait Biomechanics

Advances in wearable accelerometers allow collection of gait biomechanics in natural, non-lab, settings. However, there are currently no standards for using wearable sensors for gait applications. The purpose of this study was to provide evidencebased guidelines for best practice use of wearable accelerometers for studies of gait biomechanics. Literature was reviewed to evaluate and establish procedures for selecting, calibrating, and processing wearable accelerometer data for gait applications. Commercially available accelerometer-based activity monitors were used to test signal time synchronization, peak acceleration magnitude and timing (for accelerometers placed at different body locations during different gait conditions), and the effect device placement has on regression model estimates of vertical ground reaction force (GRFvert) that are based on hip acceleration data. Based on the evidence in the literature and from these tests, we recommend wearable accelerometers be (1) calibrated by the end-user to ensure accuracy and proper range, (2) manually time synched if using multiple accelerometers, (3) placed carefully and securely to the anatomical site of interest, and (4) located at the same anatomical site that was used to develop an acceleration-dependent model if the goal is to use that model to estimate a particular quantity (e.g. GRFvert).