Matchbox-sized device opens gait for medical assessment

The Datagait system consists of a device worn on the small of a patient’s back that sends data to an external laptop where special software interprets it for review by GPs, nurses or physiotherapists.

Many neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and motor-neurone disease, are characterised by an impaired gait and it is often one of the earliest manifestations of a condition.

In fact, patients often visit their GP complaining that they have developed a ‘funny walk’, as project lead Dr John Hart of Oxford Brookes pointed out.

In such situations, GPs currently rely on visual assessments and simple tests such as a timed 10m walk. Occasionally, patients might be referred to a specialist gait clinic that has optical motion-capture systems.

What the Datagait offers is a ‘gait lab in a box’ that can easily be used by clinicians, nurses, physiotherapists or clinical-trial investigators after a short period of training — permitting individual patient assessments in under 15 minutes.