Home Publications Research Grants Inventions & Patents Awards Additional Research Activities Faculties & Institutions Research Areas

INFLUENCE FROM WETSUIT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF BIOMECHANICAL PARAMETERS THROUGH IMU MEASUREMENTS

Weiß A, Lluch È, Koelewijn A (2023)

---

Publication Type: Conference contribution

Publication year: 2023

Event location: Fukuoka

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The use of biomechanical assessments in aquatic environments

is essential for understanding and improving

performance in sports such as swimming, diving, and

surfing. However, established methods of biomechanical

analysis, such as optical motion capture (OMC) systems,

are not feasible for use in environments like the open

sea. Inertial motion capture (IMC) systems that combine

inertial measurement units with optimal control simulation

of musculoskeletal models offer a potential solution,

since such a system can accurately estimate kinetics and

kinematics of walking and running. However, natural

aquatic environments are different than those in which

IMC has been applied so far. For example, wetsuits

are crucial in the ocean, and IMC sensors should

be placed on the wetsuit to ensure a fixed location while

practicing the sport. This could affect measurement accuracy.

Therefore, we investigated the effect of wetsuits

on the accuracy of IMC, by comparing the error between

OMC and IMC with and without wearing a wetsuit.

METHODS

We conducted a pilot study with one participant, who

walked and ran on a treadmill, while data was collected

using both OMC and IMC. Each task was performed

with and without a wetsuit. We then calculated joint angles

and joint moments by solving optimal control problems

for a sagittal plane musculoskeletal model. We created

simulations by tracking the OMC and IMC data and

evaluated the IMC system by comparing it to the simulation

created with OMC data, both with and without

the wetsuit. Joint angles from inverse kinematics, together

with ground reaction forces, were tracked in the

OMC simulations, while linear accelerations and angular

velocities were tracked in the IMC simulations.

Here, we calculated the correlation coefficient and root

mean squared error (RMSE) of the joint angles and moments

of the hips, knees, and ankles, as well as of the

ground reaction forces.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We found that joint angles, joint moments, and ground

reaction forces correlated well between the wetsuit and

no-wetsuit condition, while RMSEs are similar to those

in. The joint moment predictions with the

IMC were even more similar to OMC when wearing the

wetsuit than without the wetsuit. The

correlation coefficient here was 0.95 for the recording

without wetsuit and 0.98 for the recording with wetsuit.

So far, we only analysed running data of one participants.

We will further evaluate our methods on other

participants, as well as for walking. We also plan to

evaluate our algorithms by analysing motions recorded

in a controlled aquatic environment.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, our pilot study provides initial evidence

that wearing a wetsuit does not affect the quality of motion

analysis performed with IMC, meaning that there

are no adverse affects when placing inertial sensors on a

wetsuit instead of on the body. Future studies should assess

movements recorded in an aquatic environment, to

fully explore the potential of IMC in this environment.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

How to cite

APA:

Weiß, A., Lluch, È., & Koelewijn, A. (2023). INFLUENCE FROM WETSUIT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF BIOMECHANICAL PARAMETERS THROUGH IMU MEASUREMENTS. In Proceedings of the XXIX Congress of International Society of Biomechanics (ISB 2023). Fukuoka.

MLA:

Weiß, Alexander, Èric Lluch, and Anne Koelewijn. "INFLUENCE FROM WETSUIT ON THE ASSESSMENT OF BIOMECHANICAL PARAMETERS THROUGH IMU MEASUREMENTS." Proceedings of the XXIX Congress of International Society of Biomechanics (ISB 2023), Fukuoka 2023.

BibTeX: Download