OpenSim Validation for Healthy and Post-Stroke Gait Analysis: A Comparison with Experimental Motion Capture Data

Abstract

Gait analysis is crucial for assessing post-stroke movement impairments and guiding rehabilitation. This study utilizes OpenSim to analyze joint kinematics in healthy and poststroke participants, validating simulation-generated gait data against an experimental motion capture dataset for accuracy and reliability. This study focused on elderly individuals aged 70-75 years from an existing dataset. To examine gait deviations due to stroke-related impairments, Group A included 9 healthy subjects, while Group B comprised 11 post-stroke individuals. Results indicate that OpenSim underestimates knee and ankle flexion, leading to discrepancies in range of motion (ROM) and root mean square deviation (RMSD). A two-sample Student’s t-test confirms significant hip joint deviations in post-stroke gait while Spearman’s correlation coefficient test shows a high correspondence in trend between OpenSim and experimental results, particularly the hip joint. These findings support the refinement of biomechanical simulations for stroke rehabilitation and clinical gait analysis.