Prediction of Infant Segment Inertias

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to use the elliptical cylinder model adapted for infants (Sun & Jensen, 1994) with a cross-sectional sample to select appropriate multiple linear regression equations for predicting masses and nonlinear regression equations for predicting principal moments of inertia (Yeadon & Morlock, 1989). The linear and nonlinear predictions were evaluated with an independent cross-validation sample of infants and a sample where inertias ranged below and above the cross-sectional sample. The cross-validation for masses was compared to a cross-validation of four linear regressions for masses developed by Schneider and Zernicke (1992). It is recommended that the linear regression equations developed in this study be used to predict infant segment masses. It is also recommended that the nonlinear regression equations developed in this study be used to predict the principal moments of inertia of all infant segments, other than head Ix and lower trunk Ix and Iy.