Identification of scapular kinematics using surface mapping: A validation study

Abstract

The immediate goal of this study was to develop and validate a noninvasive, computational surface mapping approach for measuring scapular kinematics by using available motion capture technology in an innovative manner. The long-term goal is to facilitate clinical determination of the role of the scapula in children with brachial plexus birth palsy (BPBP). The population for this study consisted of fourteen healthy adults with prominent scapulae. Subject-specific scapular templates were created using the coordinates of five scapular landmarks obtained from palpation with subjects seated and arms relaxed in a neutral position. The scapular landmarks were re-palpated and their locations recorded in the six arm positions of the modified Mallet classification. The six Mallet positions were repeated with approximately 300 markers covering the scapula. The markers formed a surface map covering the tissue over the scapula. The scapular template created in the neutral position was iteratively fit to the surface map of each trial, providing an estimate of the orientation of the scapula. These estimates of scapular orientation were compared to the known scapular orientation determined from the scapular landmarks palpated in each Mallet position. The magnitude of the largest mean difference about an anatomical axis between the two measures of scapular orientation was 3.8° with an RMS error of 5.9°. This technique is practical for populations with visibly prominent scapulae (e.g., BPBP patients), for which it is a viable alternative to existing clinical methods with comparable accuracy.

Validity and reliability of 3D marker based scapular motion analysis: A systematic review

“…Five studies had a quality score between 70% and 80% (Meskers et al, 2007;Bourne et al, 2009;Lempereur et al, 2010;Senk and Cheze, 2010;Chu et al, 2012) and 8 between 60% and 70% (Karduna et al, 2001;Lovern et al, 2009;Brochard et al, 2011b;Prinold et al, 2011;Shaheen et al, 2011;Mattson et al, 2012).…”

“…Three studies put the markers on the anatomical landmarks of the scapula recommended by the ISB (AA, AI and TS) (Lovern et al, 2009;Lempereur et al, 2010;Brochard et al, 2011b). Bourne et al (2009) used 6 surface marker configurations on the scapula whereas Mattson et al (2012) fixed 300 markers on the scapula. Lempereur et al (2010) showed that the use of markers on the scapula produced an error (in comparison with palpation) of up to 15° with increasing humeral elevation Lovern et al (2009) found an under-estimation of 50° of upward rotation at full arm elevation.…”

“…The tasks most used for the estimation of concurrent validity were flexion and abduction of the upper limb, although some studies assessed elevation in the scapular plane (Prinold et al, 2011;Chu et al, 2012;Warner et al, 2012) or shoulder internal/external rotation (Karduna et al, 2001;van Andel et al, 2009;Chu et al, 2012;Mattson et al, 2012). To assess reliability, tasks relating to activities of daily living such as hand to mouth, hand to neck or forward reaching were also evaluated (Jaspers et al, 2011b;Jaspers et al, 2011a;Lempereur et al, 2012).…”

“…In order to standardize the analysis of shoulder kinematics, the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) has published recommendations for the definition of joint coordinate systems and rotation sequences for the upper limb including the scapula (Wu et al, 2005). Recently, many methods have been described for the estimation of scapular motion such as the acromial method (a sensor is attached directly over the acromion and bony landmarks are digitalized to transform coordinates from the acromial sensor to the scapula coordinate system) (Karduna et al, 2001;van Andel et al, 2009;Brochard et al, 2011b), or the surface mapping approach (estimation of scapular motion using a cluster of markers over the scapula) (Jacq et al, 2008;Mattson et al, 2012). The placement of the sensor over the flat part of the acromion (Shaheen et al, 2011) and the cluster of markers covering the scapula (300 in the study by Mattson et al (2012) and 120 in the study of Schwartz et al (2013)) differ according to the methods.…”

A patient-specific measurement technique to model shoulder joint kinematics

“…In the upper extremity, the scapula is particularly affected. To solve this issue, several techniques were proposed, such as the scapula locator device [4], the acromion marker cluster [5,6] or the use of a large number of markers to track skin deformation and infer scapular motion [7].…”