The reason for the previously announced test with the sensors during the Four Days Marches is that measurements in the hospital provide an insufficient picture of walking in daily life. Patients then do their best. With the portable motion sensors it is possible to measure the quality of walking at home, both indoors and outdoors, for longer periods of time.
Right information
However, the Maartenskliniek first wanted to test the motion sensors to find out whether they provide the correct information. The Nijmegen walking march was a good opportunity for this. Six employees of the Sint Maartenskliniek therefore participated in the Four Days Marches for three days, each with two sensors on their shoes and one on their lower back.
During the three walking days, the researchers involved in the trial were able to test the sensors and the analysis programs intensively and for a long time. They read the sensors every day and analyzed the data with our own developed analysis software. Every two hours, the walkers answered questions about fatigue and pain. The answers were compared with the information provided by the sensors.
Sensors are accurate
The sensors provided approximately 150 hours of walking data. They measured important data per step such as: stride length (the length of each step), differences between the left and right leg, stability during walking and walking speed per step.
Analyzes of the measurement data and the answers of the six employees showed, among other things, that the fatigue of the walkers has an effect on the stride length: the stride length then decreased. If the fatigue did not increase, the stride length remained the same. The sensors are therefore very accurate and provide a lot of valuable data, according to the Sint Maartenskliniek. In addition, they proved to be resistant to weather influences such as extreme heat and rain. On Wednesday 20 July it was still over 30 degrees, on Thursday 21 July it rained for a large part of the day.
Testing sensors at home
The next phase in the study involves testing the sensors by patients at home. It concerns people with hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN) – a hereditary disease that affects the nerves, a stroke (stroke) and an incomplete spinal cord injury. The Sint Maartenskliniek will start with the first trial participants in September.
The clinic will also use the sensors for research in the hospital to assess whether a treatment produces the desired result. For this, the clinic is still looking for participants who are not being treated in the hospital.
Subsidy ZonMW
The research is being conducted by researchers from the Loop Expertise Center (LEC) of the Sint Maartenskliniek and the Radboudumc. The LEC specializes in the treatment of people with complex neurological gait problems. For the period from 2021 to 2025, the LEC has received a subsidy from ZonMw from the Top Specialist Care and Research programme. With the grant, the Sint Maartenskliniek is carrying out several research projects to further improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with complex neurological walking problems.