Determination of the accuracy and reliability of observation gait assessment for children with cerebral palsy when performed via a telerehabilitation

Analysis of gait is a fundamental part of management of children with cerebral palsy and a service which patients in rural areas are required to travel to tertiary hospitals to receive. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of performing gait analysis via telerehabilitation so that clients in rural areas may have access to services without the cost of travel to metropolitan areas. We simultaneously analysed the gait of 26 children with cerebral palsy using the Edinburgh Visual Gait Score for Cerebral Palsy (EVGS) via a traditional split-screen video assessment and via an automated store-and-forward telerehabilitation system. Store-and-forward video was captured a two data bitrates: 384 Kbit/s and 56 Kbit/s. Measurement agreement was analysed between observation techniques and inter- and intra-rater reliability was calculated for each method of assessment.