GonioSense: a wearable-based range of motion sensing and measurement system for body joints

Abstract

This paper introduces GonioSense -- a wearable based system that can track and measure both active and passive joint motions. GonioSense leverages embedded inertial sensors to provide reliable and consistent measurement results. A key challenge for our system is how to efficiently detect body movement and accurately calculate range of joint motion. We built a preliminary version that can collect and analyze sensor data in real time on the Android platform. To test the system, we recruited five healthy volunteers and measured six kinds of joint motions. The same tools used by physical therapists, measurements gathered from a goniometer and an inclinometer is what we used as the ground truth data for calibrations and evaluation of our algorithm. In the initial version, GonioSense estimation errors are within ± 5% for more than 80% cases. By utilizing wearable technology, the benefits for both doctors and patients could bring forth an immense step forward in physical therapy treatment.