Experimental evaluation of accuracy and repeatability of a novel body-to-sensor calibration procedure for inertial sensor-based gait analysis

• We propose a novel functional calibration procedure for MIMU based gait analysis.
• Accuracy and repeatability have been evaluated also in respect to ISB-JCS.
• Procedure demonstrated not to be dependent on precise sensor positioning.
• Procedure allows self-performance by subjects out of ambulatory environment.

This paper describes a novel functional body-to-sensor calibration procedure for inertial sensor-based gait analysis. The procedure is designed to be easily and autonomously performable by the subject, without the need for precise sensor positioning, or the performance of specific movements. The procedure consists in measuring the vertical axis during two static positions, and is not affected by magnetic field distortion. The procedure has been validated on ten healthy subjects using an optoelectronic system to measure the actual body-to-sensor rotation matrices.The effects of different sensor positions on each body segment, or different levels of subject inclination during the second static position of the procedure, resulted unnoticeable. The procedure showed accuracy and repeatability values less than 4° for each angle except for the ankle int–external rotation (9.7°, 7.2°). The results demonstrate the validity of the procedure, since they are comparable with those reported for the most-adopted protocols in gait analysis.