Shoe-Type Wearable Sensors Measure Gait Parameters in Vestibular Neuritis: A Preliminary Study / 대한평형의학회지

OBJECTIVES: Despite patients with dizziness were reported of revealing gait problems, there is still lack of objective quantitative measurement of gait patterns of peripheral vestibular disorders. To demonstrate gait variability in acute unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit, we evaluated the differences in gait patterns between vestibular neuritis (VN) patients and healthy subjects by the use of shoe-type inertial measurement unit (IMU) with sensors mounted. METHODS: Between April 2017 and January 2019, 30 patients diagnosed with unilateral peripheral vestibular deficit presumed to be caused by VN were enrolled in this study. The shoe-type IMU was used to analysis subjects. We assessed gait speed, cadence, stride length, stance phase, normalized stride length, normalized step length, phase coordination index and gait asymmetry of data from shoe-type IMU sensors with the walking protocol. We tested 30 healthy volunteers as control group. RESULTS: We identified spatiotemporal parameters of human gait. The gait speed of patients with VN was decreased to 3.82±0.8 compared to 4.93±1.08 in control group. In addition, there were differences in normalized stride length, normalized gait speed and related gait parameters, when comparing VN group and control group. CONCLUSION: Gait analysis by the use of shoe-type IMU could provide important information regarding vestibular pathophysiology in patients with VN. Gait performance tests can examine gait variability quantitatively. It will be taken into consideration as a vestibular function test for patients with vertigo.

O desenvolvimento da coordenação motora na criança: Revisão / Child motor coordination development: A review

O desenvolvimento motor ao longo da infância se caracteriza pela aquisição e aperfeiçoamento de diferentes habilidades motoras, fundamentais para a criança desempenhar tarefas de autocuidado, escolares e de lazer. O objetivo desta revisão é descrever o desenvolvimento da coordenação motora na criança em idade escolar, com ênfase nas habilidades de coordenação bilateral e seqüenciamento, examinando as variações de acordo com a idade e as possíveis influências do sexo no desempenho motor. Os trabalhos revisados indicam que há progressão em tais habilidades motoras. Além disso, os estudos sobre a evolução das habilidades de arremesso, chute e agarrada sugerem evolução diferenciada de acordo com o sexo favorável ao sexo masculino. São apresentadas tabelas indicativas das expectativas de desempenho por idade, a fim de auxiliar os profissionais que trabalham com avaliação do desempenho motor de crianças em idade escolar.

Motor development along the childhood is characterized by acquisition and improvement of several motor skills, indispensable to the child for carring out self-care, school and leisure tasks. The aim of this review is to describe the motor coordination development of school-age child, especially bilateral coordination and sequencing skills, looking into changes according age and possible gender influences on motor performance. Reviewed studies have pointed that there is a progress on those motor skills. Besides, studies on evolution of throwing, kicking and catching skills have suggested that there is difference on development related to gender favorable to males. Tables indicating performance expectations according age are presented as an effort to help professionals working with evaluation of school-age children’s motor performance.