Accelerometry-based prediction of movement dynamics for balance monitoring
This paper proposes a 2D functional evaluation tool for estimating subject-specific body segment parameters, which uses a simple motor task (repeated sit-to-stand, rSTS), recorded with one single-axis accelerometer (SAA) per segment and a force plate (FP). After this preliminary estimation, the accelerometer alone is used to make quasi-real-time predictions of ground reaction force (anterior/posterior, F X , and vertical, F Z , components), center of pressure (CoP) and center of mass (CoM), during rSTS and postural oscillation in the sagittal plane. These predicted dynamic variables, as well as those obtained using anthropometric parameters derived from De Leva, were compared to actual FP outputs in terms of root mean-squared errors (RMSEs). Using De Levas parameters in place of those estimated, RMSEs increase from 12 to 21N (F X ), from 21 to 24N (F Z ), and from 21.1 to 55.6mm (CoP) in rSTS; similarly, RMSEs increase from 3.1 to 3.3N (F X ) and from 5.5 to 6.6mm (CoP) in oscillatory trials. A telescopic inverted pendulum model was adopted to analyze the balance control in rSTS using only predicted CoP and CoM. Results suggest that one SAA per segment is sufficient to predict the dynamics of a biomechanical model of any degrees of freedom.
accelerometers balance force plate subject-specific anthropometric parameters movement dynamics prediction