Current physiotherapy practice relies on visual observation of the patient for diagnosis and assessment. The assessment process can potentially be automated to improve accuracy and reliability. This thesis proposes a method to recover patient joint angles and automatically extract movement profiles utilizing small and lightweight body-worn sensors. Joint angles are estimated from sensor measurements via the extended Kalman filter (EKF). Constant-acceleration kinematics is employed as the state evolution model. The forward kinematics of the body is utilized as the measurement model. The state and measurement models are used to estimate the position, velocity and acceleration of each joint, updated based on the sensor inputs from inertial measurement units (IMUs). Additional joint limit constraints are imposed to reduce drift, and an automated approach is developed for estimating and adapting the process noise during on-line estimation. Once joint angles are determined, the exercise data is segmented to identify each of the repetitions. This process of identifying when a particular repetition begins and ends allows the physiotherapist to obtain useful metrics such as the number of repetitions performed, or the time required to complete each repetition. A feature-guided hidden Markov model (HMM) based algorithm is developed for performing the segmentation. In a sequence of unlabelled data, motion segment candidates are found by scanning the data for velocity-based features, such as velocity peaks and zero crossings, which match the pre-determined motion templates. These segment potentials are passed into the HMM for template matching. This two-tier approach combines the speed of a velocity feature based approach, which only requires the data to be differentiated, with the accuracy of the more computationally-heavy HMM, allowing for fast and accurate segmentation. The proposed algorithms were verified experimentally on a dataset consisting of 20 healthy subjects performing rehabilitation exercises. The movement data was collected by IMUs strapped onto the hip, thigh and calf. The joint angle estimation system achieves an overall average RMS error of 4.27 cm, when compared against motion capture data. The segmentation algorithm reports 78% accuracy when the template training data comes from the same participant, and 74% for a generic template.

This study was designed to investigate the roles of gender and learning styles on tenth grade students&amp / #8217 / kinematics graphing skills. The study was conducted in 14 representative cities throughout seven different geographical regions over Turkey with a total of 989 tenth grade students in last four weeks of the spring semester of 2002-2003 school year. Findings of the kinematics graphing skills test indicated that general performances of the students were very low and many students have difficulties in interpreting kinematics graphs. When the data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), while controlling the effects of students&amp / #8217 / age, previous physics course grades and previous mathematics course grades, the results indicate that there was no significant difference among the kinematics graphing skills test scores of students having different learning styles. Similarly, no significant difference was found between the kinematics graphing skills test scores of female and male students. However, a significant interaction was observed between gender and learning styles on students&amp / #8217 / kinematics graphing skills test scores. The most common learning style type was assimilator for the participants of this study. Accommodator female students&amp / #8217 / kinematics graphing skills test scores were higher than that of female students having other learning styles and converger male students&amp / #8217 / kinematics graphing skills test scores were higher than that of male students having other learning styles on kinematics graphing skills test. Bivariate correlations revealed significant positive correlations between students previous physics course grades, previous mathematics course grades, and age and their kinematics graphing skills test scores.

This study aimed to increase understanding of students' interactions in a physics microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) specifically designed to be consistent with a constructivist theory of learning. The study was motivated by a perceived need to understand better how the materials and strategies support or constrain students construction of understanding. The teacher-researcher conducted the study with two of his Year 11 physics classes, comprising 15 students studying thermal physics and 29 students studying kinematics. Dyads of students worked at tasks using a predict-observe-explain (POE) format as part of the normal class program. Data included video and audio recordings during four 70-minute sessions for each class, students' written notes, semi-structured student interviews, and the teacher's reflections on each session. The study describes the actors and network relationships during task activities. An analysis of students' discourse identified features common to both domains of physics, while the findings about studentdisplay- teacher interactions are presented as a series of eight assertions. Finally, the researcher's interpretation of learning in an MBL leads to recommendations for teaching practice.

Typescript (Photocopy) / Includes paper co-authored by the author as attachment / Bibliography: leaves 133-140 / vii, 140, [12] leaves : ill ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Applied Mathematics, 1988

[Truncated abstract] In ecomorphological or ecophysiological studies, variation in `design? traits (e.g. size, morphology and physiology) is thought to determine variation in ecologically-relevant performance traits, which in turn determines fitness in a particular habitat (Arnold 1983). Thus, natural selection is thought to act most directly on intermediate traits such as measures of locomotory performance. This thesis examined this process in the closely related group of Australian varanids lizards (Squamata: Varanidae). Phylogenetically, varanids are divided into three major clades. Size (mass and snout-to-vent length) is strongly correlated with these three clades. Two clades, (Gouldii and Komodoensis) are large, while the third clade (Odatria) has a smaller body size. Thus, there is considerable variation in size for various species. Size varied for species by three orders of magnitude. Size is also related to two ecological characteristics, foraging mode and habitat openness. Widely-foraging species were larger than sit-and-wait strategists, while species from open habitats were larger than species from semi-open or closed habitats. However, given the tight link between size and phylogeny we cannot separate adaptation of size to ecological traits from that of phylogenetic patterns. Of interest throughout this thesis was how variations in design (e.g. morphology and physiology) were related to ecological characteristics. Since body size also influences many of these morphological and physiological characteristics it is often necessary to remove the effects of size. Three design traits were examined in detail: body dimensions, vertebral number and metabolic rates. …Curiously, no performance variable linked differences in size-free body dimensions to retreat sites. This suggests that there is either a direct link between design and ecology (e.g. dorso-ventral compression), or some unmeasured performance variable related to retreat site. Given that most performance traits are thought to involve kinematic movements of the hindlimb limb and pelvis, and these were not best related to retreat site, then a direct link between design and ecology with respect to retreat site seems possible. In summary, this thesis provides evidence not only for links between design and ecology mediated by locomotory performance traits, but also direct links between design and ecology, for Australian varanid lizards.

[Truncated abstract] The study of biomechanical system dynamics consists of research to obtain an accurate model of biomechanical systems and to find appropriate torques or forces that reproduce motions of a biomechanical subject. In the first part of this study, specific computational models are developed to maintain relative angle constraints for 2-dimensional segmented bodies. This is motivated by the fact that there is a possibility of models of segmented bodies, moving under gravitational acceleration and joint torques, for its segments to move past the natural relative angle limits. Three models to maintain angle constraints between segments are proposed and compared. These models are: all-time angle constraints, a restoring torque in the state equations and an exponential penalty model. The models are applied to a 2-D three segment body to test the behaviour of each model when optimizing torques to minimize an objective. The optimization is run to find torques so that the end effector of the body follows the trajectory of a half circle. The result shows the behavior of each model in maintaining the angle constraints. The all-time constraints case exhibits a behaviour of not allowing torques (at a solution) which make segments move past the constraints, while the other two show a flexibility in handling the angle constraints more similar to a real biomechanical system. With three computational methods to represent the angle contraint, a workable set of initial torques for the motion of a segmented body can be obtained without causing integration failure in the ordinary differential equation (ODE) solver and without the need to use the “blind man method” that restarts the optimal control many times. ... With one layer of penalty weight balancing between trajectory compliance penalty and other optimal control objectives (minimizing torque/smoothing torque) already difficult to obtain (as explained by the L-curve phenomena), adding the second layer penalty weight for the closeness of fit for each of the body segments will further complicate the weight balancing and too much trial and error computation may be needed to get a reasonably good set of weighting values. Second order regularization is also added to the optimal control objective and the optimization has managed to obtain smoother torques for all body joints. To make the current approach more competitive with the inverse dynamic, an algorithm to speed up the computation of the optimal control is required as a potential future work.

Licentiatavhandling (sammanfattning) Skara : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2005. / Härtill 2 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-99).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2005.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1984. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [196]-206) and index.