Gait Patterns Monitoring Using Instrumented Forearm Crutches

Crutches are one of the most common assistive devices used in rehabilitation for lower limbs. Improper use of them results in extended recovery periods and even cause damage and pain to the limb. Many existing studies demonstrated that correctly using crutches requires an understanding of the disability or injury of the patient, gait patterns as well as user and crutch interaction during rehabilitation. In this work, a prototype was developed to monitor in real-time the exerted axial force and the tilt angles involved in each gait cycle at a prescribed gait pattern. The prototype is composed for an instrumented forearm crutch with a wireless measurement system. Four gait patterns were tested experimentally in three healthy users. Promising results were obtained that induces the possibility to identify automatically the performed pattern and even typical errors while using forearm crutches. The proposed system opens up a valid alternative to individualize therapy by monitoring the user gait using crutches in the rehabilitation process.