Abstract

Falls represent a major public health problem in the elderly population. The Timed Up & Go test (TU & Go) is the most used tool to measure this risk of falling, which offers a unique parameter in seconds that represents the dynamic balance. However, it is not determined in which activity the subject presents greater difficulties. For this, a feature-based segmentation method using a single wireless Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is proposed in order to analyze data of the inertial sensors to provide a complete report on risks of falls. Twenty-five young subjects and 12 older adults were measured to validate the method proposed with an IMU in the back and with video recording. The measurement system showed similar data compared to the conventional test video recorded, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.9884 and a mean error of 0.17 +/- 0.13 s for young subjects, as well as a correlation coefficient of 0.9878 and a mean error of 0.2 +/- 0.22 s for older adults. Our methodology allows for identifying all the TU & Go sub-tasks with a single IMU automatically providing information about variables such as: duration of sub-tasks, standing and sitting accelerations, rotation velocity of turning, number of steps during walking and turns, and the inclination degrees of the trunk during standing and sitting.