Three-dimensional children gait pattern – Reference data for healthy children aged between 7 and 17

Abstract

The research aimed to determine the standards of kinematic quantities and indices of regularity, namely the Gillette Gait Index and the Gait Deviation Index related to children aged between 7 and 17 as well as the identification of differences concerning the above-named quantities according to age and height. The study group consisted of 56 healthy children aged 7 to 17. The tests were performed using the BTS Smart system. The original applications developed in the Matlab environment for all of the children subjected to the tests enabled the identification of the Gillette Gait Index (GGI) and the Gait Deviation Index (GDI). Detailed analysis involved a set of sixteen variables describing gait kinematics; the above-named variables are used when creating the GGI. The children were divided into five groups in relation to age and six groups in relation to height. Time values of the angles of the joints were registered and then the GGI and the GDI were calculated. Sixteen parameters composing the GGI were determined for all of the children constituting the test group. The confirmation or the exclusion of differences between age-related and height-related groups was based on statistical analysis. The identified courses of the kinematic time series can be used as normative in relation to patients aged 7–17.