Joint amplitude MEMS based measurement platform for low cost and high accessibility telerehabilitation: Elbow case study

Summary This paper, presents an inertial and magnetic sensor based technological platform, intended for articular amplitude monitoring and telerehabilitation processes considering an efficient cost/technical considerations compromise. The particularities of our platform offer possibilities of a high social impact by making telerehabilitation accessible to large population sectors in marginal socio-economic sectors, especially in underdeveloped countries where, in contrast to developed countries, specialists are scarce and high technology is not available or inexistent. This platform integrates high resolution low cost inertial and magnetic sensors with adequate user interfaces and communication protocols to perform a diagnostic service through the web, or other available communication networks. Elbow amplitude information is generated by sensors and then transferred to a computing device with adequate interfaces to make it accessible to inexperienced personnel, providing a high social value at a low cost. Experimental methodology includes two different sets of tests: the first one uses flexion – extension movements on a robotic arm to validate our platform (IMOCAP) articular amplitude measurements, against the robotic positioning system. The second set of tests was carried out on human patients to test IMOCAP in real operational conditions; results were validated with an optical positioning system. This paper presents experimental results showing the platform applicability to telerehabilitation processes.