{"id":1910,"date":"2025-01-20T09:38:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T08:38:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websites.fraunhofer.de\/smart-sensing-insights\/?p=1910"},"modified":"2025-02-17T10:32:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T09:32:04","slug":"parkinson-movement-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websites.fraunhofer.de\/smart-sensing-insights\/parkinson-movement-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Gait Analysis: Enhancing Parkinson’s Care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, characterized by the progressive loss of nerve cells. As the disease progresses, both motor and non-motor symptoms become more severe. The cardinal motor symptoms include bradykinesia (slow movements), rigidity (muscle stiffness), tremor (rhythmic shaking movements), and postural instability (balance impairment). Patients often experience walking deficits characterized by short steps, slow walking speed, and shuffling of gait, significantly impacting quality of life. In order to understand Parkinson’s disease and the associated symptoms, health professionals use instrumented gait analysis as an objective method for identifying complex walking patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movement and gait analyses set the stage for accurate diagnoses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gait analysis involves the observation, measurement, and interpretation of various aspects of movements, such as body position, joint angles, muscle activity, and force production. The use of three-dimensional instrumented gait analysis, also known as motion capture or 3D gait analysis, offers a quantitative representation of gait and movement patterns. This detailed analysis facilitates a better understanding of mobility impairments, the accurate planning of therapies, the selection of appropriate assistive devices, the implementation of physiotherapeutic interventions, and a thorough evaluation of therapeutic response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"3D-modell<\/figure>
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During gait analysis, passive reflective markers are attached to the patient’s body, allowing cameras to capture their movements in real-time and reconstruct a three-dimensional model. The patient walks back and forth on a 10-meter-long walking path at a self-selected speed, using assistive devices if necessary. Triangulation techniques are used to accurately determine the positions of the markers at each point in time. The gray rectangles represent two force plates integrated in the floor. Essential information, such as joint angles, ground reaction forces, and gait parameters, are extracted from the recorded sequences.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Recognized as the international gold standard in motion analysis, the motion capture system is an advanced optical system specifically designed for human biomechanics research. Featuring two video cameras and ten infrared cameras strategically positioned around the measurement area, this setup enables precise motion tracking within a controlled laboratory environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Fraunhofer IIS Center for Sensor Technology and Digital Medicine<\/a>, we collaborate closely with the Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen to develop, validate, and implement digital technologies aiming to improve daily life mobility. Our primary focus is conducting research studies with our motion capture system to evaluate innovative treatments for patients with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. Additionally, we use the motion capture system to validate new sensor technologies specifically designed for sports, healthcare, and medical applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving innovation in neurological disease treatment and validation of sensor technologies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wearable devices are increasingly designed to capture, monitor, store, analyze, and visualize movement data. They can be placed on different areas on the body, covering a wide range of application scenarios. Traditionally, gait analysis has been limited to laboratory settings using expensive equipment. However, wearable systems offer the advantage of collecting data in real-world environments, making movement analysis more practical and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our gait analysis lab<\/a> enables in-depth testing and validation of wearable devices<\/a> in a controlled clinical lab setting, ensuring their efficacy and reliability. The motion capture system provides various domains of movement analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n\n