Reliability and accuracy of spatial–temporal gait parameters measured by the WalkinSense ®

Abstract

The WalkinSense^® is a relatively new device designed to monitor walking exercise. The purpose here was to assess its reliability and accuracy when analysing spatial–temporal gait parameters. Forty-two young adults performed 3 × 400 m walking at moderate intensity on a 400-m standard track, using both the WalkinSense and a pedometer. The between-trial reliability was excellent for all variables, with intraclass correlation coefficient values ranging from 0.90 to 0.98. The absolute and percentage differences between the WalkinSense and the track length were (mean ± standard deviation) −36.7 ± 45.0 m (95% confidence interval: −44.6, 28.6) and 9.2 ± 11.3% (95% confidence interval: −11.2, 7.2), respectively. The absolute and percentage differences between the WalkinSense and the pedometer for number of strides were 0.7 ± 10.5 strides (95% confidence interval: −1.2, 2.6) and 0.1 ± 4.0% (95% confidence interval: −0.7, 0.8), respectively. The WalkinSense system showed excellent reliability for assessing spatial–temporal gait parameters. Considering accuracy, users should be aware of the limitations of the device, which in this study ranged between −0.7% and 0.8% and between −11.2% and 7.2%, for number of strides and travelled distance, respectively.