Wearable inertial sensors detect anticipatory postural adjustments prior to step initiation in early Parkinson’s Disease

Anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) prior to step have been detected using forceplates and EMG activity. APAs are impaired in advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) and could be an important parameter to monitor motor preparation. However, only one study has evaluated APAs in subjects with early PD. We recently demonstrated the ability to detect APAs in healthy subjects using accelerometric sensors. We hypothesized that inertial devices could provide sensitive measures of gait initiation deficits in early PD.