Background: Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAI) is a complex, often post-traumatically developing impairment of the hip joint. It is characterized by ambiguous symptomatology, which makes early diagnosis difficult.

Aim: The study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of a triaxial gyroscopic sensor in routine practice as an additional indication criterion for operative versus conservative treatment procedures.

Methods: Ninety-two patients were included in the experimental retrospective study and 62 completed the examination. All patients signed informed consent. A gyroscopic sensor was placed on the right side of the pelvis above the hip joint and patients walked approximately 15 steps. Data were also evaluated while the patients climbed stairs. A complete clinical examination of the dynamics and physiological movements in the joint was performed. The data measured by the gyroscopic sensor were processed using differential geometry methods and subsequently evaluated using spectral analysis and neural networks.

Results: FAI diagnosis using gyroscopic measurement is fast and easy to implement. Our approach to processing the gyroscopic signals used to detect the stage of osteoarthritis and post-traumatic FAI could lead to more accurate detection and capture early in FAI development.

Conclusions: The obtained data are easily evaluated, interpretable, and beneficial in the diagnosis of the early stages of FAI. The results of the study show that this approach can lead to more accurate and early detection of osteoarthritis and post-traumatic FAI.

Keywords: wearable sensors; osteoarthritis; mathematical biophysics; telemedicine; biomechanics