VALIDITY OF STRIDE LENGTH ESTIMATES OBTAINED FROM OPTOJUMP

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to ascertain the validity of stride length estimates obtained from OptoJump (Microgate, Bolzano, Italy) using displacement data derived from three-dimensional videography as criterion. One subject repeatedly ran through a 4 m section of OptoJump to obtain real-time stride length estimates. Corresponding criterion stride length estimates were also obtained from the displacement data derived from video. 95% limits of agreement were applied to the 56 pairs of measurements revealing an error interval of 4.2 ± 23.1 mm. We concluded that stride length estimates obtained from OptoJump lacked sufficient validity for use in motor control studies. However, the capability of this system to acquire other relevant data in real-time, provides sufficient scope to suggest pursuing the development of this system.