Method for Estimating Three-Dimensional Knee Rotations Using Two Inertial Measurement Units: Validation with a Coordinate Measurement Machine

Rachel V Vitali; Stephen M Cain; Ryan S McGinnis; Antonia M Zaferiou; Lauro V Ojeda; Steven P Davidson; Noel C Perkins

doi:10.3390/s17091970

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Method for Estimating Three-Dimensional Knee Rotations Using Two Inertial Measurement Units: Validation with a Coordinate Measurement Machine

Journal article

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Peer reviewed

Method for Estimating Three-Dimensional Knee Rotations Using Two Inertial Measurement Units: Validation with a Coordinate Measurement Machine

Rachel V Vitali, Stephen M Cain, Ryan S McGinnis, Antonia M Zaferiou, Lauro V Ojeda, Steven P Davidson and Noel C Perkins

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.17(9), p.1970

08/27/2017

DOI: 10.3390/s17091970

PMCID: PMC5620966

PMID: 28846613

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Abstract

Three-dimensional rotations across the human knee serve as important markers of knee health and performance in multiple contexts including human mobility, worker safety and health, athletic performance, and warfighter performance. While knee rotations can be estimated using optical motion capture, that method is largely limited to the laboratory and small capture volumes. These limitations may be overcome by deploying wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs). The objective of this study is to present a new IMU-based method for estimating 3D knee rotations and to benchmark the accuracy of the results using an instrumented mechanical linkage. The method employs data from shank- and thigh-mounted IMUs and a vector constraint for the medial-lateral axis of the knee during periods when the knee joint functions predominantly as a hinge. The method is carefully validated using data from high precision optical encoders in a mechanism that replicates 3D knee rotations spanning (1) pure flexion/extension, (2) pure internal/external rotation, (3) pure abduction/adduction, and (4) combinations of all three rotations. Regardless of the movement type, the IMU-derived estimates of 3D knee rotations replicate the truth data with high confidence (RMS error < 4 ° and correlation coefficient r ≥ 0.94 ).

wearable sensors

motion tracking

human performance

inertial measurement units

knee rotations

Details

Title: Subtitle: Method for Estimating Three-Dimensional Knee Rotations Using Two Inertial Measurement Units: Validation with a Coordinate Measurement Machine
Creators: Rachel V Vitali - University of Michigan
Stephen M Cain - University of Michigan
Ryan S McGinnis - University of Vermont
Antonia M Zaferiou - Rush University Medical Center
Lauro V Ojeda - University of Michigan
Steven P Davidson - University of Michigan
Noel C Perkins - University of Michigan
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), Vol.17(9), p.1970
DOI: 10.3390/s17091970
PMID: 28846613
PMCID: PMC5620966
NLM abbreviation: Sensors (Basel)
ISSN: 1424-8220
eISSN: 1424-8220
Language: English
Date published: 08/27/2017
Academic Unit: Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984195169002771

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