Title: Structural Health Monitoring and Evaluation of Human Gait to Assist in the Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease

1 The human body is a complex structure, and its structural health can be monitored using sensors. A system using wireless inertial measurement units for data acquisition and the monitoring of human gait is described. Gait analysis is used in the medical community to diagnose and evaluate patients with Parkinson’s disease. Currently, such analysis is done subjectively. The system described quantifies gait analysis by making detailed and continuous measurements of foot motions during walking. Raw acceleration and rotation rate data is transformed into time histories of displacements and Euler angles, providing clinicians with precise numerical measurements of a multitude of gait parameters. A discussion of selected simple features with clear physical analogues shows the utility of our system to evaluate different damage states and distinguish between healthy and infirmed cohorts.