Slips are a leading cause of injury among older adults. Specific slip recovery measures, including slip distance and peak slip speed, have been shown to increase significantly among fallers as compared to non-fallers. Often, slipping kinematics are measured using optoelectronic motion capture (OMC), requiring a laboratory setting and limiting data collection to experimentally-controlled conditions. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) show promise as a portable and wearable form of motion capture. This study had two objectives. First, we investigated whether foot and ankle IMU-derived slip recovery measures could be considered equivalent to the same OMC-derived measures. Second, we investigated if both participant-placed and researcher-placed IMU-derived slip recovery measures could be considered equivalent to the same OMC-derived measures. 30 older adults (ages 65-80) were exposed to a slip while wearing both IMUs and OMC markers. Slip distance and peak slip speed were measured by both systems and compared. Equivalence testing (α = 0.05) showed that IMUs placed on the foot and the ankle were equivalent to OMC in measuring these slip recovery measures. Furthermore, it was shown that researcher and participant-placed IMUs were equivalent (α = 0.05) to OMC in measuring these slip recovery measures. These results confirm that IMUs can be a viable substitute for OMC and have the potential to expand data capture to a real-world environment. / Master of Science / Falls are a major cause of injury among older adults. Slips are a large contributor to falls, so it is important to better understand how slips occur to develop more efficient fall-prevention programs. To understand slips, previous research often utilized optoelectronic motion capture (OMC) to measure slip recovery measures. However, OMC relies on multiple cameras, limiting slip measurement to a laboratory. As we want to understand slips in the real-world, we must use a different form of motion capture. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) are sensors that can afford real-world biomechanical measurement. In this thesis research, 30 older adults (ages 65-80) were exposed to one over-ground slip. Slip recovery measures are compared between OMC and IMUs placed on the foot and ankle. Furthermore, IMU placement is compared between researchers and participants. Equivalence testing showed that IMUs placed on the foot and the ankle were equivalent to OMC in measuring these slip recovery measures. Furthermore, it was shown that researcher and participant-placed IMUs were equivalent to OMC in measuring these slip recovery measures. These results confirm that IMUs can be a viable substitute for OMC and have the potential to expand data capture to a real-world environment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118616 |
| Date | 03 April 2024 |
| Creators | Morris, Michelle Ann |
| Contributors | Industrial and Systems Engineering, Madigan, Michael L., Lim, Sol Ie, Franck, Christopher Thomas |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
Page generated in 0.0027 seconds