Analysis of age-related modifications of lower limb motor control strategies by using a wearable biomechatronic system

Abstract

The main aim of this work was to identify an experimental method for the quantitative assessment of the motor performance of elderly people, during motor tasks requiring also different cognitive efforts. Specifically, a dual task approach was used to investigate age-related deficits in the ability to walk or climb stairs, and to concurrently perform various categories of cognitive tasks. A wearable biomechatronic system was used to measure the kinematics of the lower limb, during the task execution. Parameters derived from gait analysis were used for the quantitative assessment of examined subjects motor performances. Preliminary results showed that the proposed method can provide accurate and reliable measurements, which could be useful to deep inside the comprehension of the age-related deficits of lower limb motor control strategies.