A novel bilateral step counter based on the direct measurement ì of the distance between lower limbs during gait in persons with multiple sclerosis

The aim of this study is to test and validate a novel step counter method (DiSC) based on distance and inertial measurements recorded using a single wearable prototype system (SWINGDS) applied to one of the ankles. Thirteen patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) performed a six-minute walking test (6MWT), for a total of 6,876 steps recorded. The DiSC method showed a mean absolute percentage error equal to 2.4% and 5.1% for the instrumented and non-instrumented legs, respectively.