Recent developments in biofeedback for neuromotor rehabilitation

The original use of biofeedback to train single muscle activity in static positions or movement unrelated to function did not correlate well to motor function improvements in patients with central nervous system injuries. The concept of task-oriented repetitive training suggests that biofeedback therapy should be delivered during functionally related dynamic movement to optimize motor function improvement. Current, advanced technologies facilitate the design of novel biofeedback systems that possess diverse parameters, advanced cue display, and sophisticated control systems for use in task-oriented biofeedback. In light of these advancements, this article: (1) reviews early biofeedback studies and their conclusions; (2) presents recent developments in biofeedback technologies and their applications to task-oriented biofeedback interventions; and (3) discusses considerations regarding the therapeutic system design and the clinical application of task-oriented biofeedback therapy. This review should provide a framework to further broaden the application of task-oriented biofeedback therapy in neuromotor rehabilitation

Developing a Benchmark Suite for the Evaluation of Orientation Sensors

This paper examines the problem with the lack of standardization through which MEMS orientation sensors are evaluated. These sensors are sold with data sheets that outline their performance, but lack the conditions under which the testing takes place. In this research, a testing apparatus was developed, and testing routines were designed to evaluate the different characteristics of orientation sensors under different motion conditions. Three orientation sensors, each in a different price range, were evaluated with the benchmark suite. The testing apparatus is a turntable that can precisely spin an orientation sensor via a stepper motor, and can record its exact orientation along with the heading read from the orientation sensor. Sets of movements we call benchmark routines were implemented to test different properties of the sensors. The results show that the turntable performs correctly, and as expected, sensors with similar data sheets perform differently

Inertial Motion Tracking for Inserting Humans into a Networked Synthetic Environment

Inertial/Magnetic tracking is based on the use of sensors containing three orthogonally mounted angular rate sensors, three orthogonal linear accelerometers and three orthogonal magnetometers to determine independently the orientation of each link of an articulated rigid body. Inertial/magnetic orientation tracking could be applied to a broad range of problems which require real-time tracking of an articulated structure without being continuously dependent upon an artificially generated source. This research focuses on the goal of developing and demonstrating wireless full body tracking using MARG sensor modules.U.S. Army Research OfficeW911NF-04-1-030

Design and Implementation of the MARG Human Body Motion Tracking System

Real-time tracking of human body motion has applications in tele-operation, synthetic reality and others. A motion tracking system based on use of the MARG senson has been under development at Naval Postgraduate School and Miami University. The Magnetic, Angular Rate, and Gravity (MARG) sensor modules use B combination of three orthogonal magnetometers, three orthogonal angular rate sensors, and tbree orthogonal accelerometers to measure 3-D orientation of individual limb segments in order to determine posture. This paper presents the latest results of the MARG human body motion tracUng system. The design and implementation of a Control Interface Unit (CIU), a real-time 3-D human avatar called “Andy,” and a concurrent client-server program are discussed. Experimental testing and evaluation of the overall MARG system is also presented. The system is able to track multiple human limbs in real time. Tbe captured human motion data can be visualired over the Internet by multiple clients usiog the 3-0 avatar.This research was supported in part by Army Research Office (ARO), and Navy Modeling and Simulation Office (N6M)

Analysis of gait and coordination for arthroplasty outcome evaluation using body-fixed sensors

The importance of evaluation of an orthopedic operation such as hip or knee arthroplasty has long been recognized. Many definitions of outcome and scoring questionnaires have been used in the past to assess the outcome of joint replacement. However, these assessments are subjective and not accurate enough. In addition, orthopedic surgeons require now more subtle comparisons between potentially efficacious treatments (e.g. two types of prostheses). Therefore, the use of objective instruments that have a better sensitivity and specificity than traditional scoring systems is needed. Gait analysis is one of the most currently used instrumented techniques in this respect. However, a gait analysis system is accessible only in a few specialized laboratories, as it is complex, expensive, need a lot of room space and fixed devices, and not convenient for the patient. In this thesis, we proposed an ambulatory system based on kinematic sensors attached on the lower limbs to overcome the limitations of the previously mentioned techniques. Technically the device is portable, easily mountable, non-invasive, and capable of continuously recording data in long term without hindrance to natural gait. The goal was to provide gait parameters as a new objective method to assess Total Knee Replacement (TKR). New solutions to fusing the data of accelerometers and gyroscopes were proposed to accurately measure lower limbs orientations and joint angles. The methods propose a minimal sensor configuration with one sensor module mounted on each segment. The models consider anatomical aspects and biomechanical constraints. In the proposed techniques, the angles are found without the need for integration, so absolute angles can be obtained which are free from any source of drift. These data were then used to develop a gait analysis system providing spatio-temporal parameters, kinematic curves, and a visualization tool to animate the motion data as synthetic skeletons performing the same actions as the subjects. Moreover, a new algorithm was proposed for assessing and quantification of inter-joint coordination during gait. The coordination model captures the whole dynamics of the lower limbs movements and shows the kinematic synergies at various walking speeds. The model imposes a relationship among lower limb joint angles (hips and knees) to parameterize the dynamics of locomotion for each individual. It provides a coordination score at various walking speeds which is ranged between 0 and 10. An integration of different analysis tools such as Harmonic Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, and Artificial Neural Network helped overcome high-dimensionality, temporal dependence, and non-linear relationships of the gait patterns. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods in outcome evaluation, we have considered a clinical study where the outcomes of two types of knee prostheses were compared. We conducted a randomized controlled study, including 54 patients, to assess TKR outcome between patients with fixed bearing and mobile bearing tibial plates of implants. The patients were tested preoperatively and postoperatively at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Various statistical analyses were done to compare the outcomes of the two groups. Finally, we provided objective criteria, using ambulatory gait analysis, for assessing functional recovery following TKR procedure. We showed significant difference between the two groups where the standard clinical evaluation was unable to detect such a difference

An inertial sensor system for analysing human movement

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