Inertial measurement unit (IMU) records of human movement can be converted into joint angles using a sensor-to-segment calibration, also called functional calibration. This study aims to compare the accuracy and reproducibility of four functional calibration procedures for the 3D tracking of the lower limb joint angles of young healthy individuals in gait. Three methods based on segment rotations and one on segment accelerations were used to compare IMU records with an optical system for their accuracy and reproducibility. The squat functional calibration movement, offering a low range of motion of the shank, provided the least accurate measurements. A comparable accuracy was obtained in other methods with a root mean square error below 3.6° and an absolute difference in amplitude below 3.4°. The reproducibility was excellent in the sagittal plane (intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) > 0.91, standard error of measurement (SEM) < 1.1°), good to excellent in the transverse plane (ICC > 0.87, SEM < 1.1°), and good in the frontal plane (ICC > 0.63, SEM < 1.2°). The better accuracy for proximal joints in calibration movements using segment rotations was traded to distal joints in calibration movements using segment accelerations. These results encourage further applications of IMU systems in unconstrained rehabilitative contexts.

One countermeasure used during long-duration spaceflight to maintain bone and muscle mass is a treadmill equipped with a subject loading system (SLS) that simulates gravity. To date, little is known about the biomechanics of running in weightlessness on such a treadmill-SLS system. We have designed an instrumented treadmill/force plate to compare the biomechanics of running in weightlessness to running on Earth. Gravity was simulated by two pneumatic pistons pulling downward on a subject's harness, with a force approximately equal to body weight on Earth. Four transducers, mounted under the treadmill, measured the three components of the reaction force exerted by the tread belt under the foot. A high-speed video camera recorded the movements of limb segments while the electromyography of the four lower limb muscles was registered. Experiments in weightlessness were conducted during the European Space Agency parabolic flight campaigns. Control experiments were performed on the same subjects on Earth. When running on the treadmill with an SLS, the bouncing mechanism of running is preserved. Depending on the speed of progression, the ground reaction forces, contact and aerial times, muscular work and bone stress differed by a maximum of ± 5-15% during running on the treadmill with an SLS, as compared to that on Earth. The movements of the lower limb segments and the EMG patterns of the lower limb muscles were also comparable. Thus, the biomechanics of running on Earth can reasonably be duplicated in weightlessness using a treadmill with an SLS that generates a pull-down force close to body weight on Earth.

No abstract

SummarySince the 1990s, treadmills have been equipped with multi-axis force transducers to measure the three components of the ground reaction forces during walking and running. These measurements are correctly performed if the whole treadmill (including the motor) is mounted on the transducers. In this case, the acceleration of the treadmill centre of mass relative to the reference frame of the laboratory is nil. The external forces exerted on one side of the treadmill are thus equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the external forces exerted on the other side. However, uncertainty exists about the accuracy of these measures: due to friction between the belt and the tread-surface, due to the motor pulling the belt, some believe that it is not possible to correctly measure the horizontal components of the forces exerted by the feet on the belt. Here, we propose a simple model of an instrumented treadmill and we demonstrate (1) that the forces exerted by the subject moving on the upper part of the treadmill are accurately transmitted to the transducers placed under it and (2) that all internal forces – including friction – between the parts of the treadmill are cancelling each other.

No abstract