GAIToe: Gait Analysis Utilizing an IMU for Toe Walking Detection and Intervention

Idiopathic toe walking (ITW) is a walking pattern in which a person habitually walks on their forefoot with the absence of heel contact during the gait cycle. Gait rehabilitation can be achieved through behavior modification by employing a wearable device and giving the user immediate feedback. In this paper, we introduce GAIToe, a real-time toe walking detection and intervention platform that remotely monitors walking patterns. GAIToe utilizes an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) located in the insole and incorporates a machine learning model to detect different walking, sitting, and standing behaviors. GAIToe identifies these activities with 88% accuracy and provides vibration feedback following consecutive toe strikes. It also provides an Android application to transmit the data and a visual context to monitor the walking patterns. For the preliminary evaluation of GAIToe, we collected activity samples from ten healthy subjects.