Analysis of gait biomechanics in neurotypical adults during unconstrained and constrained walking
Gait analysis is an essential tool in understanding walking mechanisms in neurotypical and neurologically-impaired people. Over the recent years, gait analysis has increasingly been used to guide the development of gait rehabilitation protocols and assistive robotic devices, owing to the insights on individual differences and general trends in locomotion it provides. This is a very exciting area, but its full potential remains largely unexplored.
As part of our overall research goal to develop a framework for a user-tailored technology-assisted gait therapy, we have designed a human study you are invited to participate in, provided you meet the inclusion criteria. These criteria are necessary to make the study feasible and to allow us to focus on specific research questions we want to investigate. The goal is to learn more about neurotypical adults’ walking patterns and compensatory mechanisms, which will inform future patient studies as well as the framework we aim to develop. (The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Melbourne on 11/01/2021, #:2021-20623-15928-5.)
Below are a few key points to know about the study. You can download more details and the consent form you will be asked to sign if you decide to participate using the links below. As a participant, you are:
– participating voluntarily, and have the right to withdraw at any time, no questions asked;
– a neurotypical adult (18-45 years; 1.6-1.9 m height) with no known lower limb (leg) impairments;
– asked to come to the lab on three separate days, preferably within two weeks: the first session takes about 2h30min (familiarisation with the experimental conditions), and the second and third about 3h30min each (data-collection);
– required to bare your legs and pelvic area (more details in the attached PLS);
– participating in a non-public study (you and the study investigators are the only persons in the lab), and no personal details will ever be published that would allow identifying you in any way.
If you are interested in participating in this study or would like to know more before making a decision, kindly fill in the form below, and the principal investigator will contact you shortly.
Thank you so much for your interest in participating! We highly appreciate it!