A durable, low-cost electrogoniometer for dynamic measurement of joint trajectories

• Published in: Medical engineering & physics Vol. 33; no. 5; pp. 546 - 552
• Main Authors: Wang, Po T, King, Christine E, Do, An H, Nenadic, Zoran
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Applied kinesiology; Arthrometry, Articular - economics; Arthrometry, Articular - instrumentation; Articular goniometry; Biological and medical sciences; Electricity; Equipment Failure; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Joint range of motion; Joints - physiology; Male; Middle Aged; Movement; Radiology; Regression analysis; Transducers; Vertebrates: body movement. Posture. Locomotion. Flight. Swimming. Physical exercise. Rest. Sports; Young Adult; Applied kinesiology; Transducers; Joint range of motion; Articular goniometry; Regression analysis; Human; Biomedical equipment; Joint; Osteoarticular system; Design; Transducer; Body movement; Biomedical engineering
• ISSN: 1350-4533; 1873-4030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2010.12.008

Abstract This article introduces a method and step-by-step instructions for the design of a low-cost, flexible electrogoniometer, suitable for kinesiology, rehabilitation, and biometric applications. Two unidirectional flexible sensors are placed back-to-back, and a multivariate linear regression model was used to combine measurements from the two sensors. Following a short calibration procedure, the electrogoniometer can be reliably used for measurement of flexion/extension angles of various hinge joints. The performance of the goniometer has been tested on a population of 21 healthy subjects performing flexion/extension of index finger, wrist and elbow. The proposed device achieves the quality of joint angle measurements comparable to that of commercial electrogoniometers, while having a significantly higher durability-to-cost ratio.