TY  - JOUR
T1  - Experimental Validation of Depth Cameras for the Parameterization of Functional Balance of Patients in Clinical Tests
A1  - Moreno, Francisco-Angel
A1  - Merchán-Baeza, José-Antonio
A1  - González-Sánchez, Manuel
A1  - Gonzalez-Jimenez, Javier
A1  - Cuesta-Vargas, Antonio
JA  - Sensors
Y1  - 2017
VL  - 17
IS  - 2
SP  - 424
SN  - 1424-8220
UR  - http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/17/2/424
M2  - doi: 10.3390/s17020424
KW  - depth camera
KW  - healthy young adults
KW  - inertial sensor
KW  - multi-directional reach test
KW  - timed up and go
N2  - In clinical practice, patients’ balance can be assessed using standard scales. Two of the most validated clinical tests for measuring balance are the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and the MultiDirectional Reach Test (MDRT). Nowadays, inertial sensors (IS) are employed for kinematic analysis of functional tests in the clinical setting, and have become an alternative to expensive, 3D optical motion capture systems. In daily clinical practice, however, IS-based setups are yet cumbersome and inconvenient to apply. Current depth cameras have the potential for such application, presenting many advantages as, for instance, being portable, low-cost and minimally-invasive. This paper aims at experimentally validating to what extent this technology can substitute IS for the parameterization and kinematic analysis of the TUG and the MDRT tests. Twenty healthy young adults were recruited as participants to perform five different balance tests while kinematic data from their movements were measured by both a depth camera and an inertial sensor placed on their trunk. The reliability of the camera’s measurements is examined through the Interclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), whilst the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r) is computed to evaluate the correlation between both sensor’s measurements, revealing excellent reliability and strong correlations in most cases.
M1  - img_url=http%3A%2F%2Fmapir.uma.es%2Ffamoreno%2Fimages%2Fpapers%2Fmdpi_sensors_17_thumbnail.jpg
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M1  - rank_cat_name=INSTRUMENTS%20%26%20INSTRUMENTATION
M1  - impact_factor=2.033
ER  -