Gait Analysis Using Accelerometry Data from a Single Smartphone: Agreement and Consistency between a Smartphone Application and Gold-Standard Gait Analysis System

Spatio-temporal parameters of human gait, currently measured using different methods, provide valuable information on health. Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) are one such method of gait analysis, with smartphone IMUs serving as a good substitute for current gold-standard techniques. Here we investigate the concurrent validity of a smartphone placed in a front-facing pocket to perform gait analysis. Sixty community-dwelling healthy adults equipped with a smartphone and an application for gait analysis completed a 2-min walk on a marked path. Concurrent validity was assessed against an APDM mobility lab (APDM Inc.; Portland, OR, USA). Bland–Altman plots and intraclass correlation coefficients (agreement and consistency) for gait speed, cadence, and step length indicate good to excellent agreement (ICC(2,1) > 0.8). For right leg stance and swing % of gait cycle and double support % of gait cycle, results were moderate (0.52 < ICC(2,1) < 0.62). For left leg stance and swing % of gait cycle left results show poor agreement (ICC(2,1) < 0.5). Consistency of results was good to excellent for all tested parameters (ICC(3,1) > 0.8). Thus we have a valid and reliable instrument for measuring healthy adults’ spatio-temporal gait parameters in a controlled walking environment.