Differentiating fallers from nonfallers using nonlinear variability analyses of data from a low-cost portable footswitch device: a feasibility study

Purpose: Falls are one of the main causes of injuries in older adults. This study evaluated a low-cost footswitch device that was designed to measure gait variability and investigates whether there are any relationships between variability metrics and clinical balance tests for individuals with a history of previous falls. Methods: Sixteen older adults completed a history of falls questionnaire, three functional tests related to fall risk, and walked on a treadmill with the footswitch device. We extracted the stride times from the device and applied two nonlinear variability analyses: coefficient of variation and detrended fluctuation analysis. Results: The temporal variables and variability metrics from the footswitch device correlated with gold-standard measurements based on ground reaction force data. One variability metric (detrended fluctuation analysis) showed a significant relationship with the presence of past falls with a sensitivity of 43%. Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrates the basis for using low-cost footswitch devices to predict fall risk.