Measurement of Gait Speed using a Doppler Radar: Influence of Acceleration and Deceleration Zones

International audienceThis paper examines the reliability of the measurement of the gait speed using a Doppler radar, and studies the influence of the acceleration and deceleration zones on this measurement. To do that, a study sample consisted of ten healthy young adults aged between 23 and 38, were demanded to walk back and forth over a distance of 4.57m in slow, usual, and fast pace. The test was repeated on a total of three sessions. The gait speed was determined using a Doppler radar. The repeatability of the gait speed was evaluated through the intraclass correlation coefficient. The gait speed did not vary much in the tests at each pace. A variation was however noted between the start, middle, and end of each walking pattern. These results revealed that the gait speed measured using a Doppler radar is a reliable index for evaluating pathological walking patterns. A care should however be taken of the variations between the zones of each walking pattern