A novel technique for analysis of postural information with wearable devices

Vala Jeyhani, Shadi Mahdiani, Jari Viik, Niku Oksala, Antti Vehkaoja

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionScientificpeer-review

    1 Citation (Scopus)
    87 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    These days, as many jobs involve sitting behind desks and working with computers for extended periods, more and more people are suffering from back problems. Maintenance of an appropriate posture may prevent future back problems. There are various medical methods for studying postures abnormalities of the back but most of these methods are limited to be utilized in diagnostics and follow-up of treatment and not used in a continuous or in a preventive manner. Therefore, designing and developing methods for measuring, analyzing and reporting of posture information, aimed for prevention of future back problems is of fundamental interest. In this work, a proof-of-concept system, including five accelerometer sensor units is presented. Additionally, an index, which we call spine inclination index (SII), is introduced and used for converting the raw data to meaningful presentable information. Initial evaluation includes measurements with six subjects. Subjects were asked to mimic accentuated kyphotic, straight and accentuated lordotic postures while sitting. Our results show that the designed device and SII index are able to distinguish between different postures very well. In addition, since this device measures the inclination angle of different spinal postures, its output can be directly compared with other widely used methods.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publication2018 IEEE 15th International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks, BSN 2018
    PublisherIEEE
    Pages30-33
    Number of pages4
    ISBN (Electronic)978-1-5386-1109-8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2018
    Publication typeA4 Article in conference proceedings
    EventIEEE International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks -
    Duration: 1 Jan 2018 → …

    Conference

    ConferenceIEEE International Conference on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks
    Period1/01/18 → …

    Publication forum classification

    • Publication forum level 1

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