Balance Measurement Using Microsoft Kinect v2: Towards Remote Evaluation of Patient with the Functional Reach Test

To prevent falls, it is important to measure periodically the balance ability of an individual using reliable clinical tests. As Red Green Blue Depth (RGBD) devices have been increasingly used for balance rehabilitation at home, they may also be used to assess objectively the balance ability and determine the effectiveness of a therapy. For this, we developed a system based on the Microsoft Kinect v2 for measuring the Functional Reach Test (FRT); one of the most used balance clinical tools to predict falls. Two experiments were conducted to compare the FRT measures computed by our system using the Microsoft Kinect v2 with those obtained by the standard method, i.e., manually. In terms of validity, we found a very strong correlation between the two methods (r = 0.97 and r = 0.99 (p t-test to the data after correction indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between the measurements obtained by both methods. As for the reliability of the test, we obtained good to excellent within repeatability of the FRT measurements tracked by Kinect (ICC = 0.86 and ICC = 0.99, for experiments 1 and 2, respectively). These results suggested that the Microsoft Kinect v2 device is reliable and adequate to calculate the standard FRT

Balance measurement using Microsoft Kinect v2: Towards remote evaluation of patient with the functional Reach Test

[eng] To prevent falls, it is important to measure periodically the balance ability of an individual using reliable clinical tests. As Red Green Blue Depth (RGBD) devices have been increasingly used for balance rehabilitation at home, they may also be used to assess objectively the balance ability and determine the effectiveness of a therapy. For this, we developed a system based on the Microsoft Kinect v2 for measuring the Functional Reach Test (FRT); one of the most used balance clinical tools to predict falls. Two experiments were conducted to compare the FRT measures computed by our system using the Microsoft Kinect v2 with those obtained by the standard method, i.e., manually. In terms of validity, we found a very strong correlation between the two methods (r = 0.97 and r = 0.99 (p < 0.05), for experiments 1 and 2, respectively). However, we needed to correct the measurements using a linear model to fit the data obtained by the Kinect system. Consequently, a linear regression model has been applied and examining the regression assumptions showed that the model works well for the data. Applying the paired t-test to the data after correction indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between the measurements obtained by both methods. As for the reliability of the test, we obtained good to excellent within repeatability of the FRT measurements tracked by Kinect (ICC = 0.86 and ICC = 0.99, for experiments 1 and 2, respectively). These results suggested that the Microsoft Kinect v2 device is reliable and adequate to calculate the standard FR

Validation of RGBD devices for balance clinical measurement: the functional reach test with Microsoft Kinect

[EN] RGBD capture devices have been proven as an ICT realistic approach for clinical prevention of falls. RGBD devices facilitate the capture of human movement and are known because of its low cost. According to that, its use is widespread and has been validated in different interactive applications for balance rehabilitation. In this type of rehabilitation, it is very important to have information on clinical patient outcomes. Moreover, it would be helpful to use RGBD devices in case the patient performs the rehabilitation treatment at home because the specialist could use the RGBD devices to assess the balance. This paper demonstrates that the Microsoft Kinect device is reliable and adequate to calculate the standard functional reach test (FRT), one of the most widely used balance clinical measurement. To do so, an experiment was performed on 14 healthy users to compare the FRT calculation manually and using a RGBD device. The results show an average absolute difference of 2.84 cm (± 2.62), and there are no statistically significant differences applying a paired t-student test for the data.[ES] Los dispositivos de captura RGBD han demostrado ser un enfoque tecnológico realista para la prevención terapéutica de caídas. Estos dispositivos RGBD facilitan la captura del movimiento humano y son conocidos gracias a su bajo coste. Por esta razón, su uso se ha generalizado y han sido validados en diferentes aplicaciones interactivas para la rehabilitación motora del equilibrio. En este tipo de rehabilitación es muy importante tener información sobre la evolución terapéutica del paciente. Además, en los casos en que el paciente realiza el tratamiento de rehabilitación en el domicilio y cada cierto tiempo recibe una visita del fisioterapeuta, si éste pudiese utilizar el dispositivo RGBD para valorar el equilibrio con un test estándar le simplificaría mucho el trabajo al no tener que desplazar ningún instrumento de medida. En este trabajo se demuestra que el dispositivo Microsoft Kinect es fiable y adecuado para calcular el test estándar de alcance funcional (FRT), uno de los más utilizados para medir terapéuticamente el equilibrio. Para ello, se ha realizado un experimento donde se ha comparado el cálculo del FRT de forma manual y utilizando un dispositivo RGBD sobre 14 usuarios sanos. Los resultados muestran una diferencia absoluta media de 2.84 cm (±2.62) y la aplicación de un test t-student pareado sobre los datos indica que no hay diferencias estadísticamente significativas.This work was partially funded by European commission under Alyssa Program (ERASMUS-MUNDUS action 2 lot 6), by the Project TIN2012-35427 of the Spanish Government, with FEDER support.Ayed, I.; Moyà Alcover, B.; Martínez Bueso, P.; Varona, J.; Ghazel, A.; Jaume I Capó, A. (2017). Validación de dispositivos RGBD para medir terapéuticamente el equilibrio: el test de alcance funcional con Microsoft Kinect. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 14(1):115-120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riai.2016.07.007OJS115120141Bonnechere, B., Jansen, B., Salvia, P., Bouzahouene, H., Omelina, L., Moiseev, F., ... & Jan, S. V. S., 2014. Validity and reliability of the Kinect within functional assessment activities: comparison with standard stereophotogrammetry. 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Camera-based Monitoring of Neck Movements for Cervical Rehabilitation Mobile Applications

[eng] Vision-based interfaces are used for monitoring human motion. In particular, camera-based head-trackers interpret the movement of the user's head for interacting with devices. Neck pain is one of the most important musculoskeletal conditions in prevalence and years lived with disability. A common treatment is therapeutic exercise, which requires high motivation and adherence to treatment. In this work, we conduct an exploratory experiment to validate the use of a non-invasive camera-based head-tracker monitoring neck movements. We do it by means of an exergame for performing the rehabilitation exercises using a mobile device. The experiments performed in order to explore its feasibility were: (1) validate neck's range of motion (ROM) that the camera-based head-tracker was able to detect; (2) ensure safety application in terms of neck ROM solicitation by the mobile application. Results not only confirmed safety, in terms of ROM requirements for different preset patient profiles, according with the safety parameters previously established, but also determined the effectiveness of the camera-based head-tracker to monitor the neck movements for rehabilitation purposes