Toward a more comprehensive gait disorder analysis expert system

The design of an expert system for diagnosis of gait pathology is described. Knowledge is represented by means of frames representing particular abnormal gait patterns. A divide and conquer matching technique is used for inferring the action of specific dysfunctional muscles. Input data include: (1) muscle activation, from electromyographic signals measured by fine wire electrodes inserted in leg muscles, (2) the foot-floor contact pattern, measured by switches embedded in a special insole placed in shoes or taped to the subject´s foot, (3) the angular motion at the hip, knee and ankle, measured by a 3-D computerized motion analysis system, and (4) ground reaction forces, measured by a force plate embedded in the floor along the test track. output data include a processed and summarized version of the input data, diagnoses, and explanations