Stair design can influence the risk of stair falls. Stair nosings are intended to provide greater foot accommodation, although to date little is known about how the nosing shape can affect foot trajectory during stair ambulation. This study investigates the impact of different nosing shapes (round, square, tapered, and no nosing) on foot clearance and overhang measures during stair ascent and descent among healthy and post-stroke older adults. Slower cadence in ascent and descent, and greater foot overhang during descent highlighted the increased risk of stair falls for persons with chronic stroke. For both healthy and post-stroke participants, the tapered and round nosing shapes resulted in the largest horizontal foot clearance, and smallest foot overhang, respectively. However, given the greater step-to-step variability detected with round nosings, the tapered nosing presents as the safest choice among all evaluated designs. The results of this work can be used to inform architectural and accessible design standards for a safer built environment.

楼梯设计会影响楼梯跌落的风险。楼梯收口旨在提供更大的脚部适应能力，尽管到目前为止，人们对收口形状如何影响楼梯行走过程中脚部轨迹的了解很少。这项研究调查了健康和中风后老年人在楼梯上升和下降过程中不同的鼻孔形状（圆形，方形，锥形和无鼻孔）对脚间隙和悬垂措施的影响。上升和下降过程中的节奏较慢，下降过程中的脚部悬垂较大，这表明慢性卒中患者楼梯跌倒的风险增加。对于健康参与者和中风后参与者，锥形和圆形鼻孔形状分别导致最大的水平足部间隙和最小的足部悬垂。然而，鉴于使用圆形鼻孔检测到的较大的逐步变化性，在所有评估设计中，锥形鼻孔是最安全的选择。这项工作的结果可用于为更安全的构建环境提供体系结构和可访问的设计标准信息。