Cross-platform comparison of imaging technologies for measuring musculoskeletal motion

Abstract

Human movement is integral to daily life, it defines our species (the ability to walk upright and manipulate objects using an opposable thumb), and it is central to our ability to interact with our environment. As such, the study of human motion is dually important in our ability to optimize human functional ability. It provides a platform for understanding how pathology or injury affects human motion, so that we can both prevent and treat such pathologies. The earliest studies of human motion were mainly observational to qualify types of movements, while the current discipline and subdisciplines of human movement studies aim to quantify musculoskeletal kinematics, at times with submillimeter accuracy. The aim of this chapter is to discuss invasive and noninvasive methodologies for studying human motion with a focus on the reported accuracies, advantages, and limitations for each technique. Accuracies are presented throughout this chapter if they were reported as maximum average absolute or root mean squared errors for accuracy data for translational (in millimeters) and rotational data (in degrees) in order to simplify the reporting of cumulative accuracies from relevant articles. Thus, this review will highlight the current state of each methodology, as a platform for future investigators to build on these technologies.