Inertial motion capture systems like Xsens Awinda are increasingly used for assessing movement in clinical populations. However, it remains unclear how stroke-related motor impairments affect the quality of motion capture calibration, which is critical for obtaining reliable data.

Does motor impairment severity in stroke patients influence calibration quality when using the Xsens Awinda system?

Forty-eight individuals with a primary stroke (median age 66 years; 21 female; FAC ≥3) performed a total of 117 motion capture assessments using the Xsens Awinda system. Calibration quality was rated using Xsens' internal quality metrics. Kruskal-Wallis tests were conducted to compare functional motor abilities, assessed using the BOOMER test and 10-meter walk time, across calibration quality levels.

Of the 109 valid trials, 55% achieved good , 29% acceptable , and 16% poor calibration quality. Neither the BOOMER scores nor the 10-meter walk time was significantly associated with calibration quality levels.

These findings suggest that the Xsens Awinda system can be used across a range of motor impairment levels without introducing bias due to changes in calibration quality. Nonetheless, calibration may be challenging for severely affected individuals, a limitation that warrants further practical refinement of current procedures.