Gauging Gait Disorders with a Method Inspired by Motor Control Theories: A Pilot Study in Friedreich’s Ataxia

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 21; no. 4; p. 1144
• Main Authors: Gouelle, Arnaud, Norman, Samantha, Sharot, Bryanna, Salabarria, Stephanie, Subramony, Sub, Corti, Manuela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 06.02.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Ataxia; Biomechanics; Disease; Friedreich Ataxia - diagnosis; Gait; gait scores; Humans; Mechanics; Nervous system; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Noise; organization; Orthopedic apparatus; Patients; Physics; Pilot Projects; pressure walkway; System theory; variability; walk ratio; Walking; gait scores; pressure walkway; variability; walk ratio; organization
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21041144

To date, it has been challenging for clinicians and researchers alike to use the multiple outcome measures available to create a meaningful clinical picture and perform effective longitudinal follow-up. It has been found that instrumented gait analysis can provide information associated with a patient’s performance and help to remedy the shortcomings of the currently available outcome measures. The goal of this methodological article is to set the background and justify a new outcome measure inspired by the motor control theories to analyze gait using spatiotemporal parameters. The method is applied in a population of individuals living with Friedreich’s ataxia (FRDA), a neurodegenerative disease. The sample population consisted of 19 subjects, 11 to 65 years of age with FRDA, who either ambulated independently, with a cane, or with a rollator. Three scores based on the distance from healthy normative data were used: Organization Score, Variability Score, and an overall measurement, the Global Ambulation Score. The scores were then compared to the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) Gait Score (SARA-GS), a clinical scale currently being used for gait analysis in FRDA. Organization Scores demonstrated a longitudinal deterioration in the gait characteristics from independent ambulators to those who ambulated with a rollator. Variability Scores mostly reflected dynamic instability, which became greater as the requirement of an ambulation aid or the switch from a cane to a rollator was imminent. The global value given by the Global Ambulation Score, which takes into consideration both the Organization Score, the Variability Score, and the level of assistive device, demonstrated a logarithmic relationship with the SARA-GS. Overall, these results highlight that both components introduced should be analyzed concurrently and suggest that the Global Ambulation Score may be a valuable outcome measure for longitudinal disease progression.