Current Directions in Biomedical Engineering (Oct 2021)
Supervised Skeleton-Based Reference Movement Adjustment
Abstract
In Medical Training Therapy (MTT) the exact execution of training exercises developed by the therapist is crucial for the success of the therapy. Currently, a therapist has to treat up to 15 patients at the same time on an outpatient basis. The aim of this paper is to provide an assistance system that can evaluate both the quantity and the quality of the movement performed using a goal-oriented model which gives the patient direct recommendations for action through automated, machine-monitored feedback. To implement the therapeutic measures in a targeted manner, it is advantageous to transfer their knowledge to the patients. This would be possible by transferring the therapist's movement into a patient's movement. Under this assumption a movement sequence of the therapist is recorded and a movement reference frame is extracted with the help of a smart sensor, which is made available to the patient as a target movement. The assistance system records the patient's movement in real time, extracts the its skeleton and compares this movement with the reference. Due to anatomical body differences, the reference skeleton must be adapted to the current patient skeleton, otherwise no movement evaluation can take place. By adjusting the bone lengths and angles in the individual frames of the patient's movement the selected sequence can be compared and any movement deviations that occur can be projected in directly in real time onto the patient's 3D avatar as an error image. The patient tries to reduce the errors and in doing so comes closer and closer to the ideal movement of the therapist which guarantees the best possible therapy success.
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