Passive Marker Based Optical System for Gait Kinematics for Lower Extremity

Human gait quantification assists in physical therapy, sport science and medical diagnostics. Most gait capture systems use direct measurement techniques to acquire specific motion information, but at high cost for hardware and the subject's natural motion is hindered due to the presence of cables or other components. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces an alternative by using passive marker based optical gait analysis system developed at RAMAN Lab at Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. The co-ordinates of markers were obtained by using a simple arrangement consisting of a camera, 5 reflective passive markers and a personal computer. From the analyses, kinematic gait parameters i.e. joint angles and walking speed can be obtained. The main benefits are that it doesn’t consume excessive time and complexity required for marker placement, the need for a controlled environment to acquire high quality data, the high cost for the markers, and also the effect of the markers on the subject's movement is reduced. The prototype of the system provides decent quantitative kinematics gait parameters i.e. joint angles. The quantitative data specified by this system can help Healthcare professionals for better understanding of Indian patient's gait pathology, treatment and rehabilitation