Pelvic motion analysis for gait phase estimation during gait training with body weight support

Gait phase based body weight support can be an effective method for patients who possess different ability in each leg and who require different unloading forces between the affected and unaffected sides. To realize this concept, we proposed a gait phase estimation method from pelvic motion focusing on the feature of its quasi-periodic movement at constant walking speeds. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between the heel contact point and the turning point of pelvic motion when using body weight support system at different amount of body weight support. The results indicate that the turning points of rotation movement can be useful to estimate gait phase because the values are similar between walking with different amounts of body weight support and have less variety.