Using Cosserat Point Theory for Estimating Kinematics and Soft-Tissue Deformation During Gait Analysis

Analyzing the biomechanics of human or animal motion requires a kinematical characterization of the motion of body segments as a function of time. Common noninvasive techniques for motion tracking involve placing markers on the skin of the body part and using a motion capturing system to track the marker positions. Determining the underlying joint motion requires processing the acquired marker coordinates. This is typically done using the assumption of rigid body motion of the segment even though soft tissues deform and marker acquisition is imperfect. In this paper, a new method is presented based on a continuum mechanics approach to estimate motion of body segments while assuming a non-rigid body transformation. The new method, based on the theory of a Cosserat Point, explicitly accounts for the fact that the marker kinematics include not only translation and rotation but also the associated and possibly large deformation of the body part. The method was validated with an experimental setup and the results were compared to ground truth results also obtained during the experiment.

[1]  L. E. Malvern.  Introduction to the mechanics of a continuous medium , 1969 .

[2]  M. Rubin.  On the Theory of a Cosserat Point and Its Application to the Numerical Solution of Continuum Problems , 1985 .

[3]  M. B. Rubin,et al.  On the Numerical Solution of One-Dimensional Continuum Problems Using the Theory of a Cosserat Point , 1985 .

[4]  L. Jetto,et al.  Accurate derivative estimation from noisy data: a state-space approach , 1989 .

[5]  David A. Winter,et al.  Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement , 1990 .

[6]  A. J. van den Bogert,et al.  Effect of skin movement on the analysis of skeletal knee joint motion during running. , 1997, Journal of biomechanics.

[7]  Angelo Cappello,et al.  Multiple anatomical landmark calibration for optimal bone pose estimation , 1997 .

[8]  Kevin Ball,et al.  Modeling of the pliant surfaces of the thigh and leg during gait , 1998, Photonics West - Biomedical Optics.

[9]  M. Rubin.  Cosserat Theories: Shells, Rods and Points , 2000 .

[10]  T P Andriacchi,et al.  Correcting for deformation in skin-based marker systems. , 2001, Journal of biomechanics.

[11]  M. B. Rubin,et al.  Cosserat Theories: Shells, Rods and Points. Solid Mechanics and its Applications, Vol 79 , 2002 .

[12]  K Manal,et al.  The accuracy of estimating proximal tibial translation during natural cadence walking: bone vs. skin mounted targets. , 2003, Clinical biomechanics.

[13]  Makiko Kouchi,et al.  Analysis of Skin Movements with Respect to Bone Motions using MR Images , 2003 .

[14]  A. Cappozzo,et al.  Human movement analysis using stereophotogrammetry. Part 1: theoretical background. , 2005, Gait & posture.

[15]  A. Cappozzo,et al.  Human movement analysis using stereophotogrammetry. Part 3. Soft tissue artifact assessment and compensation. , 2005, Gait & posture.

[16]  G. Ferrigno,et al.  Real-time human motion estimation using biomechanical models and non-linear state-space filters , 2006, Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing.

[17]  M. B. Rubin,et al.  A simplified implicit Newmark integration scheme for finite rotations , 2007, Comput. Math. Appl..

[18]  Aurelio Cappozzo,et al.  Non-invasive assessment of superficial soft tissue local displacements during movement: a feasibility study. , 2009, Journal of biomechanics.

[19]  Min K. Chung,et al.  Soft tissue artifact compensation using displacement dependency between anatomical landmarks and skin markers – a preliminary study , 2009 .

[20]  M. Rubin,et al.  Arithmetic and geometric solutions for average rigid-body rotation , 2010 .