Conclusions: ...Our repeatability data for child subjects between the ages of 1.3 to 10.9 years are comparable to adult data for the same temporospatial gait parameters. We believe that the GAITRite electronic walkway is an emerging clinical tool for assessment of gait in children with and without disabilities.

Can early subclinical gait changes in children with haemophilia be identified using the GAITRite® walkway
M. Bladen; L. Alderson; K. Khair; R. Liesner; J. Green; E. Main (2007)
Haemophilia 13 (5) , 542–547 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2516.2007.01429.x

Abstract: Summary. Development of haemophilic arthropathy has long-term implications for functional mobility in people with haemophilia, but early manifestations are often asymptomatic and difficult to identify. Earlier identification of joint damage may improve outcomes. The aim of this case note review was to determine whether the GAITRite® system (electronic pressure sensitive walkway) could identify early changes in gait patterns in boys with haemophilia compared with their peers.

Clinic data from medical and physiotherapy notes of boys with severe haemophilia were compared with data from age and leg length-matched controls. Data from two consecutive walks at preferred speed were collected on all participants using the GAITRite® system.

Clinic assessment notes from 26 boys (aged 7–17 years) with severe haemophilia were identified. Of these, 20 boys had no evidence of joint pathology on assessment and six boys had radiographic evidence of arthropathy. When these data were compared with normal controls, there were statistically significant increases in swing time, stance time, single support and double support in the asymptomatic group (P < 0.01) suggesting subtle early compensatory changes in gait pattern. The children with arthropathy had additional significant differences in their gait compared with matched controls. These differences included normalized velocity, step length, stride length, step time and base of support (P < 0.01).

The GAITRite® system appears sensitive enough to identify early subtle changes in gait and differentiate between asymptomatic boys with haemophilia and those with arthropathy in comparison with a matched control group. The electronic walkway is an accessible and portable means of providing quantitative gait analysis in the clinical environment. This is an important finding as early identification of gait changes may provide clinicians with the opportunity to intervene with the aim of arresting progression of joint damage.

Test–retest reliability of spatial and temporal gait parameters in children with cerebral palsy as measured by an electronic walkway
Anne Brit Sorsdahl; Rolf Moe-Nilssen; Liv Inger Strand
Gait Posture 2008 Jan; 27(1):43-50

Introduction: Optimising walking ability is often a treatment goal for children with cerebral palsy (CP)...Outcome measures used in connection with interventions should be reliable, valid and responsive to important change. Previous literature has shown that the electronic walkway GAITRite is a reliable and valid tool for analyzing temporospatial parameters of gait in adults with and without disabilities as well as in children aged 1–12 years without disabilities. However, an assessment tool may not be reliable in all patient populations. To our knowledge, the reliability of temporal and spatial gait parameters has not yet been established for children with CP.

Conclusion: Test–retest reliability of spatial and temporal gait parameters as measured by an electronic walkway in children with CP, GMFCS-level I or II and between 3 and 13 years of age, was shown to be satisfactory for cadence, step length, stride length, single stance time and an asymmetry index based on step length. All children with CP, except one, could easily walk over the mat at different speeds, provided sufficient cognitive function, making it possible to calculate gait parameters at a normalized walking speed.