Posture Detection with Feedback
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Forward Head Posture (FHP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder correlated with neck pain that affects a large percentage of the population. Though much medical research has suggested methods for diagnosis and detection of this posture, assessment has been limited due to reliance on individual in-clinic visits. In order to provide timely detection of FHP and real-time feedback for postural correction, continuous monitoring of craniovertebral (CV) angle is needed. This report introduces a solution for continuous, non-invasive assessment of CV angle for FHP detection using a wireless inertial body sensor platform. In addition, a real-time bio-feedback mechanism for postural correction and preventive medicine is presented. The results obtained are validated against a conventional in-clinic method, the Electronics Head Posture Instrument (EHPI), demonstrating the possibility of pervasive detection of FHP.
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Motivation
Forward Head Posture (FHP) is
- Correlated with neck pain problem
- Putting stress on entire spine
- Afflicts large percentage of population
- Invoked in different scenarios
Need for continuous monitoring
- Bio-feedback to be provded to correct the bad posture in time
- FHP can be evaluated through measuring the cranioverterbral (CV) angle
Methodology
- Using accelerometer to assess CV angle to detect FHP
- Provide bio-feedback to correct the bad posture
Research Platform
- Tempo - Wireless inertial sensing platform, siz-degrees-of-freedom of motion sensing
Bio-feedback System Design
Algorithm
- Sliding windows technique for CV angle monitoring
- Threshould detection for FHP
Real-time monitoring and bio-feedback
Experimental Setup
- Elimination of nodes
- Inclinometer for initial calibration
- Parallel viddeo camera setup for validation
Result
Video validation
- Overall precision: 88.2%
- Overall accuracy: 94.5%
Future Work
Bio-feedback
- Exploring effective biofeedback types
- Exploring reasonable frequency for alarm
Form factor
- Exploring less invasive form factor