# Smartphone-Based Markerless Motion Capture for Spatiotemporal Gait Assessment: Applied Within-Session Reliability and Comparability of OpenCap Versus OptoGait

## TL;DR

This study compares the reliability and accuracy of smartphone-based motion capture (OpenCap) with a traditional photoelectric walkway (OptoGait) for measuring gait in healthy adults.

## Contribution

The study provides new evidence on the practical reliability and comparability of OpenCap in real-world gait assessments.

## Key findings

- OpenCap showed good-to-excellent within-device reliability for gait speed, stride length, and cadence.
- Systematic differences were found between OpenCap and OptoGait for speed, stride length, and double support.
- High correlations were observed for most parameters, but double support showed moderate agreement.

## Abstract

Objective gait assessment is increasingly needed beyond specialized laboratories, and 3D markerless motion capture is emerging as a viable option; however, evidence regarding its applied repeatability and practical use for spatiotemporal gait outcomes in scalable clinical and field settings remains limited. This study evaluated the applied repeatability and practical comparability of OpenCap (camera-based; CM) versus a commonly accepted photoelectric walkway (OptoGait; OPT). Thirty-nine healthy adults completed three 10-m overground trials at self-selected speed. CM parameters were derived from OpenCap’s Advanced Overground Gait Analysis. Within-device reliability was good-to-excellent for gait speed, stride length, and cadence (ICC (3,1) = 0.734–0.920 OPT; 0.791–0.917 CM) and excellent when averaging three trials (ICC (3,3) = 0.892–0.972 OPT; 0.919–0.971 CM); double support showed lower reliability (ICC (3,1) = 0.527 OPT; 0.647 CM). Between devices, CM showed higher mean speed (+0.110 m/s), stride length (+0.127 m), and double support (+3.17% of the gait cycle), while cadence was very similar (−0.59 spm). Correlations were high for speed (r = 0.951), stride length (r = 0.864), and cadence (r = 0.983) but moderate for double support (r = 0.405); absolute-agreement ICCs were highest for cadence (0.980) and lowest for double support (0.271). OpenCap provides reliable within-session estimates for key spatiotemporal measures, but systematic bias indicates it should be used consistently as a standalone tool rather than interchangeably with OptoGait without device-specific correction or reference values.