Instrumented Gait Analysis Using OptoGait

Gait performance was registered using a 10 m instrumented walkway equipped with an OptoGait-System (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy) [21 (link)]. The OptoGait-System is an optoelectrical measurement system consisting of light-transmitting and light-receiving bars. Each bar is one meter in length and consists of 100 LEDs transmitting to an oppositely positioned bar. The continuous connection between two bars allowed measuring and timing of any break in the connection. Spatial and temporal gait characteristics were registered at 1,000 Hz. The OptoGait-System demonstrated high discriminant and concurrent validity with a validated electronic walkway (GAITRite®-System) for the assessment of gait parameters in healthy young subjects [22 (link)]. Gait velocity was defined as distance in meters covered per second during one stride, stride length as linear distance in centimeters between two successive heel contacts of the same foot, and stride time as time in seconds between the first contacts of two consecutive footfalls of the same foot. In addition, coefficients of variation (CV) for each gait measure were calculated according to the formula [23 (link)]: $\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{C}\mathrm{V}\left[\%\right]=\left(\frac{\mathrm{S}\mathrm{D}}{\mathrm{M}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{n}}\right)\times 100.\end{array}$