Using Micro-Doppler Radar to Measure Gait Features Associated With Cognitive Functions in Elderly Adults

Abstract

This paper used micro-Doppler radar (MDR) measurements to investigate the significance of associations between cognitive functions and gait features of elderly persons. The aim of this paper was to develop a system that would enable the risks of developing dementia and related diseases to be monitored remotely on a daily basis. Study participants were adults aged 75 years and older. Gait velocity parameters corresponding to the walking speed and leg and foot velocities were remotely extracted via a simple 24-GHz MDR system in real time. The relationships between the extracted gait velocity parameters and the global cognition and cognitive functions in various cognitive domains (processing speed, memory, executive function, and language domains) that were assessed by conventional paper- and question-based tests were statistically analyzed. Our results revealed that, apart from the walking speed, which was mainly considered in a previous study, other parameters reflecting the leg and foot velocities are effective for the detection and classification of elderly participants with lower cognitive functions in the various cognitive domains. In particular, the statistical significance of the association of the leg velocity in the swing phase with the results of all the cognitive function tests is larger than that of the walking speed. Another important finding is that different gait velocity parameters are associated with each cognitive domain and this means that the MDR-based gait measurement can be used to determine which cognitive domain has deteriorated.