Methods of motion assessment of smart orthosis of upper limb for rehabilitation at the clinic and at home
Abstract
The aim of this work is to describe proposed and tested methods for evaluation of short-term and long-term movement activity of a smart orthosis for the upper limbs during a rehabilitation process carried out at a clinic or at home. To quantify the description of motion we used methods of evaluation of the time domain data.
To test the functionality of the methods, we compared the movement of the dominant and non-dominant limbs, assuming cyclical and acyclic movement, to obtain the expected values for a healthy population. In accordance with the goal, a group of cyclic and non-cyclic movements common to the home environment were proposed.
The movements were divided according to the activities performed during sitting, standing and walking. It was: pen writing, typing on the keyboard/using the mouse, eating with a spoon and eating a croissant combing, lifting weights, reading a book, etc.
Twenty healthy subjects participated in the study. Four gyro-accelerometers (Xsens Technologies B.V.) attached to the forearms and upper arms of both upper limbs were used to record the upper limb movements.
The results show that the calculated values of dominant and non-dominant limb parameters differ significantly in acyclic movements. The smart orthosis which uses the proposed methods can be used to evaluate the physical activity, quantify the evaluation of the rehabilitation process, and thus, it finds use in clinical practice.