Method for the acquisition of arm movement data using accelerometers

Abstract

Partial paralysis is one of the most common problems that affect stroke survivors. Many different rehabilitation therapies are available to stroke patients, including robot-aided rehabilitation, immobilization therapy, and electrical stimulation. Regardless of the choice of therapy, it is beneficial for the therapist to know whether the therapy is improving the patient's functional use of the impaired limb in daily activity. The goal of this project is to develop a method for using accelerometers to monitor and quantify the amount of motion in the arm, for the application of monitoring limb use in stroke patients outside of therapy sessions. Two analysis methods were designed. The first was based on the kinematics of the arm. The second was based on angular accelerations and the related forces applied to the shoulder and elbow joints. The two methods were tested on samples of different movement, which were chosen to represent the general motion of daily activities. The methods were tested to determine their accuracy at counting the number of movements that occurred, and their ability to produce activity values as an indication of the amplitude of the movements. The two analysis methods which were developed can identify movement of the arm under the conditions which were tested.

Thus, it appears that acceleration values can be processed to monitor and quantify arm motion. With future investigation into analyzing areas that were not tested by this project, these methods hold potential to be applied to using accelerometers to monitor arm use of patients while they are receiving rehabilitation therapy.