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Title: Closing the Wearable Gap—Part VIII: A Validation Study for a Smart Knee Brace to Capture Knee Joint Kinematics
Background: Wearable technology is used by clinicians and researchers and play a critical role in biomechanical assessments and rehabilitation. Objective: The purpose of this research is to validate a soft robotic stretch (SRS) sensor embedded in a compression knee brace (smart knee brace) against a motion capture system focusing on knee joint kinematics. Methods: Sixteen participants donned the smart knee brace and completed three separate tasks: non-weight bearing knee flexion/extension, bodyweight air squats, and gait trials. Adjusted R2 for goodness of fit (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE) between the SRS sensor and motion capture kinematic data for all three tasks were assessed. Results: For knee flexion/extension: R2 = 0.799, RMSE = 5.470, MAE = 4.560; for bodyweight air squats: R2 = 0.957, RMSE = 8.127, MAE = 6.870; and for gait trials: R2 = 0.565, RMSE = 9.190, MAE = 7.530 were observed. Conclusions: The smart knee brace demonstrated a higher goodness of fit and accuracy during weight-bearing air squats followed by non-weight bearing knee flexion/extension and a lower goodness of fit and accuracy during gait, which can be attributed to the SRS sensor position and orientation, rather than range of motion achieved in each task.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1827652
NSF-PAR ID:
10288395
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Biomechanics
Volume:
1
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2673-7078
Page Range / eLocation ID:
152 to 162
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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    Hypothesis:

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    Study Design:

    Crossover study.

    Level of Evidence:

    Level 2.

    Methods:

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    Conclusion:

    FRT after ACL reconstruction can acutely alter gait kinetics during training. Devices can be applied to selectively alter gait kinetics. However, the long-term effects of FRT after ACL reconstruction with these devices are still unknown.

    Clinical Relevance:

    FRT may be applied to alter gait kinetics of the involved limb after ACL reconstruction, depending on the device used.

     
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