Development of a positioning aid to reduce postural variability and errors in 3D whole body scan measurements

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) body scanners have the potential to evaluate changes to the human form through different clothing configurations, the use of protective equipment, or the effects of medical interventions. To achieve this, scans of an individual need to be superimposed for each experimental condition. The literature highlights that one of the limiting factors is postural variability. This paper describes a newly developed 'positioning aid' that stabilises the posture during the scanning process and is invisible on scans. The results of a study evaluating the efficacy of the positioning aid showed that it reduces postural variability for all body parts in lateral and longitudinal directions. A reference test with a rigid mannequin indicated that the 'technical' variability due to the scanner hardware and software significantly contributes to the residual variability. Furthermore, the study showed that the newly developed positioning aid overall increased the precision of the software-assisted extraction of body dimensions.

Peer Review #3 of "Body height and waist circumference of young Swiss men as assessed by 3D laser-based photonic scans and by manual anthropometric measurements (v0.1)"

“…In classical anthropometry, the stadiometer behind the volunteers may encourage the volunteers to stand straighter than without the stadiometer in the scanner (Koepke et al 2017b). Additionally, posture variability in the scanner could also have influenced height; in fact, other studies showed relevant differences due to posture variability (Schwarz-Müller et al 2018;Tomkinson and Shaw 2013;Wells et al 2015).…”

“…Possible factors influencing such differences are variability of posture, the degree of inspiration, and movement of volunteers while standing in the scanner. Also, there are technical differences between different scanner systems in terms of hardware precision, automatic landmark setting, and measurement output of the scanner software (Schwarz-Müller et al 2018). Regarding different body circumferences such as waist or hip circumference, systematic differences between scans and manual measurements can be explained by a slightly tighter fitting or slightly different positioning of the measurement tape, compared to scan derived circumferences (Koepke et al 2017b;Wang et al 2006).…”

Describing the Body in New Terms: An Examination of 3D Body-Scanning Technology and Language Use

“…Because 3D body scanning is a relatively new technology, scant research examines its perceptions and effects. Current research has primarily looked how this technology influences the creation of garments [5,6] but little else. Since this technology is on its way into stores, we need to understand how individuals perceive and talk about 3D body scanning as well as how, if at all, it changes how individuals talk about their bodies.…”

Three-Dimensional Quantification of Foundation Garment s Shaping Effects

“…Future research must consider developing a scanning process to reduce postural variability. Schwarz-Müller et al (2018) introduced a promising approach with a positioning aid [38]. Their research underlines the importance of an acquisition process that will lead to valid and comparable 3D-data.…”