Bespoke Fuzzy Logic Design to Automate a Better Understanding of Running Gait Analysis

IEEE J Biomed Health Inform. 2023 May;27(5):2178-2185. doi: 10.1109/JBHI.2022.3189594. Epub 2023 May 4.

Abstract

Running gait assessment and running shoe recommendation is important for the injury prevention of runners who exhibit different skill-levels and running styles. Traditionally, running gait assessment for shoe recommendation relies upon a combination of trained professionals (e.g., sports-therapists, physiotherapists) and complex equipment such as motion or pressure sensors, often incurring a high-cost to the consumer. Despite this, assessments are still prone to subjectivity, and may differ between assessors. Alternatively, methods to provide low-cost, reproduceable gait assessment has become a necessity, especially within a habitual (low-resource) context, with many traditional methods generally unavailable due to the need of professional assistance and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic. Fuzzy logic has shown to be an effective tool in the assessment and identification of gait by providing the potential for a high-accuracy methodology, while retaining a low computational cost; ideal for applications within embedded systems. Here, we present a novel shoe recommendation fuzzy inference system from the classification of two key running gait parameters, foot strike and pronation from a single foot mounted internet of thing (IoT) enabled wearable inertial measurement unit. The fuzzy approach provides excellent (ICC > 0.9) accuracy, while significantly increasing the resolution of the gait assessment technique, providing a more detailed running gait analysis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • COVID-19*
  • Fuzzy Logic
  • Gait
  • Gait Analysis
  • Humans
  • Pandemics
  • Running*
  • Shoes