An Entrepreneurial Program Initiative funded by the College of Human Sciences

Clinical Gait Assessment Program


Ann Smiley-Oyen	Timothy Derrick	Jason Gillette	Paddy Ekkekakis	Warren Franke

Principal Investigators
Ann L. Smiley-Oyen, PI, HHP
Timothy Derrick, Co-PI, HHP
Jason Gillette, Co-PI, HHP
Paddy Ekkekakis, Co-PI, HHP
Warren Franke, Co-PI, HHP

Amount Awarded: $45,000

Duration: 3 years

Contact: Ann Smiley-Oyen, asmiley@iastate.edu

Abstract: The goal of this proposal is to establish a clinical gait assessment program that provides objective, reliable and repeatable measurements of walking and running. The expected clientele are patients referred by physicians and health care professionals, older adults who wish to establish an annual or biannual assessment of gait for personal consumption, and runners who wish to have their technique assessed. The assessment program will provide a much-needed service in central Iowa, generate income to help support our research, offer training in gait assessment for students, recruit participants for research studies, and provide pilot data for grant proposals for external funding. The program will include motor control and biomechanical assessment, and, in some cases measurement of psychological measures such as gait efficacy and fear of falling and/or physiological measures of metabolism of gait, thus integrating sub-disciplines within kinesiology. It is anticipated that the program will become self-sufficient through payment for the clinical assessments.