Although the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) is among the recommended clinical tools to assess gait impairments in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD), its standard clinical outcome consists only of the distance walked in 6 min. Integrating a single Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) could provide additional quantitative and objective information about gait quality complementing standard clinical outcome. This study aims to evaluate the test–retest reliability, validity and discriminant ability of gait parameters obtained by a single IMU during the 6MWT in subjects with mild PD. Twenty-two people with mild PD and ten healthy persons performed the 6MWT wearing an IMU placed on the lower trunk. Features belonging to rhythm and pace, variability, regularity, jerkiness, intensity, dynamic instability and symmetry domains were computed. Test–retest reliability was evaluated through the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), while concurrent validity was determined by Spearman’s coefficient. Mann–Whitney U test and the Area Under the receiver operating characteristic Curve (AUC) were then applied to assess the discriminant ability of reliable and valid parameters. Results showed an overall high reliability (ICC ≥ 0.75) and multiple significant correlations with clinical scales in all domains. Several features exhibited significant alterations compared to healthy controls. Our findings suggested that the 6MWT instrumented with a single IMU can provide reliable and valid information about gait features in individuals with PD. This offers objective details about gait quality and the possibility of being integrated into clinical evaluations to better define walking rehabilitation strategies in a quick and easy way.

This paper presents a kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) dataset of movements of upper limbs and hands during functional tasks in 3D space, such as reaching, grasping, lifting, and rotating objects. The study includes a sample of 10 healthy subjects (aged 24 to 73 years) and 10 individuals with upper limb motor deficits subsequent to stroke (aged 62 to 82 years). For each task, raw data and computed variables are provided, including: 3D coordinates of external markers, joint angles of the upper limb in sagittal, transverse, and horizontal planes, phalangeal angles, and surface EMG signals from the main upper limb muscles. The dataset presented in this study, collected from both healthy and post-stroke subjects of various ages, serves as a valuable resource for future research on motor function in humans. It can be used as a normative reference for analyzing pathological movement of people with stroke, thus addressing their recovery trajectory, for testing motor control simulation models, and for developing control algorithms for robots or active upper limb exoskeletons in rehabilitation.

This dataset includes raw and processed data collected using a single lower-back-mounted inertial measurement unit (IMU) during a standardized 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) in a sample of sixty healthy adults (age range: 21–75 years; 50% female). Accelerometer and gyroscope signals were analyzed for metrological quality under static and dynamic conditions. A set of digital gait metrics was derived from the IMU data, including spatiotemporal parameters and measures of gait intensity, instability, symmetry, and regularity. These metrics are provided in the dataset alongside demographic, anthropometric, and physiological data. The dataset offers a practical, clinically relevant resource to support the development, validation, and benchmarking of novel algorithms for digital mobility assessments. Its structure enables comparisons across age and sex groups and provides normative data for future analyses on pathologic populations, supporting applications in aging studies, rehabilitation, and digital biomarker development. Raw signals, processed metrics and software codes are included in the dataset to support effective data reusability.

Background: Dementia has an impact on the physical activities performed daily in a social context. Sleeping and resting, in general, are also affected by dementia. Monitoring techniques based on miniaturized wearable sensors and on sensorized environments allow for actigraphic recordings and location tracking. The availability of contemporaneous physical activities profile led to quantify, in the social actigraphy approach, the level of correlation between individuals living in the same environment. Objective: This study has two main objectives: (1) to define a methodology for actigraphic recordings, based on wearable accelerometers, and on location tracking, based on Bluetooth wearable technology, and to apply it in a well-defined social context, a long-term care residential unit for people with dementia; and (2) to quantify test-retest reliability of the indices obtained by the monitoring methodology. Methods: Persons with dementia living in the long-term care unit have been equipped with miniaturized wearable sensors, an accelerometer at their dominant wrist, and a Bluetooth beacon at their ankle for 7 days. The raw recordings allowed for computing indices related to physical activity intensities, to the occurrence of walking bouts, to the efficiency of sleep and waking phases, to social interactions between individuals, and to locations preferably occupied. The 7-day session was repeated at short (3 weeks) and long (3 months) terms in order to quantify the test-retest reliability of the indices. Results: Twenty-five persons with dementia were enrolled, 4 of them dropped out, and valid data were obtained, in the different sessions, from 19 to 21 individuals of the recruited group. Control data from 10 age-matched healthy participants were derived from published datasets. As a group, compared with age-matched healthy participants, persons with dementia showed a comparable duration of phases of no activity and of light activity (energy cost lower than 3 metabolic equivalents of tasks [METs]), a relevantly lower duration (−84.3%) of phases of moderate activity (energy cost ranging from 3 to 6 METs), and substantial absence (−100%) of phases of vigorous activity (larger than 6 METs); moreover, daytime and nighttime were characterized by comparable wake and sleep, respectively, efficiency; finally, as to the social interactions, persons with dementia showed a lower correlation of their motor activity profiles (−53.1%). The test-retest reliability was excellent for physical activity indices (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.76 to 0.98), good for social indices (0.65‐0.67), excellent for sleep or wake efficiency (0.74‐0.89), and fair for location tracking indices (0.37‐0.78). Conclusions: The considered methodology, particularly concerning accelerometry, proved to be feasible, informative, and with a good to excellent test-retest reliability. Interestingly, the methodology clearly identified behaviors, such as wandering, in a minority of individuals inside this study’s group of persons with dementia, thus supporting a possible clinical use of the methodology.