Gait Measurement System for ALS Monitoring

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of cortical, brain stem, and spinal motor neurons which lead to muscle weakening, motor function loss, and cognitive impairment.

The disease can be deadly within 5 years of symptom onset, so it is important to diagnose it early to take action.

Existing diagnosing methods are highly qualitative and tend to detect disease late. We aim to develop a system that will allow clinicians to

Since ALS results in severe decay motor control in the lower extremities, we will use gait information to inform onset.

This project will develop a system with the ability to capture high-frequency and high-fidelity data that can be used to interpret gait movement to allow clinicians to computationally identify disease onset and progression based on minute behavioral changes.

The system will be capable of recording continuous data with sub-second resolution over an extended period and will therefore be able to be worn during day-to-day life outside of a controlled laboratory environment.