Three Dimensional Gait Analysis

The Three Dimensional Gait Analysis (3DGA) has proven to be a particularly powerful instrument to explicitly quantify joint kinematics and kinetics of the gait in children with Cerebral Palsy. 3DGA involves the use of video and infra-red cameras to record a person walking along a five metre walkway. Reflective dots are applied to the joints at predetermined intervals to capture information on body segment movement during gait and a force platform is positioned in the middle of the walkway to collect information on the Ground Reaction Force (GRF) during stance phase.

3DGA is the gold standard for the comprehensive assessment of gait function in ambulant children with Cerebral Palsy. It allows for the in-depth analysis of three dimensional kinematics, kinetics, temporo-spatial measurements, dynamic electromyography and physiological testing. 3DGA also provides clinicians with the ultimate in outcome measures for evaluating the effect an orthosis may have on a child’s gait. Employing 3DGA for orthosis evaluation at the level of gait kinematics and kinetics can be regarded as a technical quality check of the orthotic intervention in itself.However, the everyday application in a clinical setting is limited due to the costs involved of setting up and running a gait laboratory and the time required for each gait assessment.