An In-Shoe Device to Monitor Toe-Walking in Children With Cerebral Palsy

• Toe Walking Severity (TWS) index [ Time Frame: 1 day ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Measure for quantifying changes in severity of toe walking over time based on Center of Pressure trajectories computed by the sensorized insole
  
  

• Edinburgh Visual Scale (EVS) score [ Time Frame: 1 day ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Clinical measure of severity of gait deviation
  
  

The investigators on this protocol intend to develop the device and rely on it to propose a Toe Walk Severity (TWS) index, a novel outcome measure for quantifying changes in severity of toe walking over time and for assessing the outcome of surgical and non-surgical interventions.

Tasks include:

A.Validate data acquisition measurements in laboratory setting compared to gold-standard video analysis and field (outside of laboratory).

B.Develop multi-stage classification algorithm from subset of laboratory and field data.

C.Validate classification algorithm against random subsets of laboratory and field data.

D.Explore the development of a Toe Walking Severity (TWS) index from available biomechanical and ActiveGait data for different ambulatory conditions.

E.Perform longitudinal study of the childhood toe walking population including both laboratory analysis and at-home monitoring using ActiveGait technology.

F.Analyze statistically the sensitivity and specificity of the TWS index compared to clinical observations. Gather evidence that the TWS index provides a means to track changes in severity of toe walking over time.