Wearable lower limb biomechanics measurement system for gait analysis during walking and ascending stair

Current existing sensors have inherent limitations such as mobility, wearability, and rigidity for measuring walking information. In order to investigate advantages and disadvantages of each sensor and measure bio-signals during walking on a flat terrain and ascending stairs, we developed a wearable lower limb biomechanics measurement system integrated with force sensors, encoders, and myoelectric sensors. Depending on motions, changes of joint angles and activity patterns for four muscles were recorded for a single healthy subject. As a result, in case of walking on a flat terrain, the tendency of angle variation in each joint are similar whether the subject puts on the wearable monitoring system or not. In ascending stairs, variations of joint angles were larger than that of walking for all joints (hip, knee, and ankle flexion/extension). For muscle activations, vastus lateralis were activated during ascending stairs while it was not activated during walking.