{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T23:14:22Z","timestamp":1780614862858,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,6]],"date-time":"2021-02-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612569600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>To date, it has been challenging for clinicians and researchers alike to use the multiple outcome measures available to create a meaningful clinical picture and perform effective longitudinal follow-up. It has been found that instrumented gait analysis can provide information associated with a patient\u2019s performance and help to remedy the shortcomings of the currently available outcome measures. The goal of this methodological article is to set the background and justify a new outcome measure inspired by the motor control theories to analyze gait using spatiotemporal parameters. The method is applied in a population of individuals living with Friedreich\u2019s ataxia (FRDA), a neurodegenerative disease. The sample population consisted of 19 subjects, 11 to 65 years of age with FRDA, who either ambulated independently, with a cane, or with a rollator. Three scores based on the distance from healthy normative data were used: Organization Score, Variability Score, and an overall measurement, the Global Ambulation Score. The scores were then compared to the Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) Gait Score (SARA-GS), a clinical scale currently being used for gait analysis in FRDA. Organization Scores demonstrated a longitudinal deterioration in the gait characteristics from independent ambulators to those who ambulated with a rollator. Variability Scores mostly reflected dynamic instability, which became greater as the requirement of an ambulation aid or the switch from a cane to a rollator was imminent. The global value given by the Global Ambulation Score, which takes into consideration both the Organization Score, the Variability Score, and the level of assistive device, demonstrated a logarithmic relationship with the SARA-GS. Overall, these results highlight that both components introduced should be analyzed concurrently and suggest that the Global Ambulation Score may be a valuable outcome measure for longitudinal disease progression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21041144","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,10]],"date-time":"2021-02-10T04:33:46Z","timestamp":1612931626000},"page":"1144","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Gauging Gait Disorders with a Method Inspired by Motor Control Theories: A Pilot Study in Friedreich\u2019s Ataxia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2368-8448","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arnaud","family":"Gouelle","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Gait and Balance Academy, ProtoKinetics, Havertown, PA 19083, USA"},{"name":"Laboratory Performance, Sant\u00e9, M\u00e9trologie, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 (PSMS), UFR STAPS (University of Sport Sciences), 51100 Reims, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samantha","family":"Norman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bryanna","family":"Sharot","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stephanie","family":"Salabarria","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sub","family":"Subramony","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Manuela","family":"Corti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1374","DOI":"10.1002\/mds.27780","article-title":"Subtle gait and balance impairments occur in idiopathic REM Sleep Behavior Disorder","volume":"34","author":"Matar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Mov. 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