USE OF AN INSTRUMENTED TREADMILL FOR REAL-TIME GAIT SYMMETRY EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK IN NORMAL AND TRANS-TIBIAL AMPUTEE SUBJECTS

The purpose of this research was to evaluate a newly developed system for assessing and providing feedback of gait symmetry information in r eal time to subjects walking on a motorised treadmill (the CCF Treadmi ll). The advantages of the system are that it allows the rapid collect ion and comparison of temporal and kinetic parameters of gait for mult iple successive strides, at a constant known speed, without forcing su bjects to target their footsteps. Gait asymmetries of six normal (mean age 42.7 years) and six unilateral transtibial amputee subjects (mean a 41.7, and average 6.0 years using a prosthesis) were quantified. Th e amputee group was the reevaluated after receiving five minutes of tr aining with each of three different types of real-time visual feedback (RTVF). Asymmetries in the measured parameters before feedback were 4 .6 times greater in the amputee population than in the normal group, a nd were consistent with the finding of previous authors. Significant d ecreases in gait asymmetry were demonstrated for all forms of feedback after amputees received feedback training. Results, however, indicate that gait asymmetries for different variables are nut necessarily rel ated, and that more work needs to be done to identify those variables for which attaining a more symmetrical gait pattern is most beneficial . Further work also needs to be done to determine the long term effect s of such RTVF training. The CCF Treadmill and RTVF were shown to be p otentially useful tools both for defining rehabilitation targets and f or quantifying patients' progress towards those goals.