Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOSDescription:
Osteoarthritis is a progressive musculoskeletal disorder characterized by gradual loss of articular cartilage. It is the most common cause of long-term disability for people over 65 due to the ageing process that reduces the ability of the cartilaginous tissue to withstand loads and stresses. The surgical procedure indicated for patients affected by severe osteoarthritis is the Total Joint Replacement (TJR) which aims to relieve pain and restore range of motion. However, after surgery, many individuals still experience an antalgic gait pattern and the motor pattern of the operated limb may remain slightly dysfunctional even years after the intervention and the contralateral limb may also adopt compensation strategies.
The goal of this thesis is to highlight the changes in post-operative stage of patients that underwent a Total Knee Replacement (TKR) with several GoLiveWear devices (with accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope) for measuring body movements, body mechanics, and electromyography (EMG) electrodes to monitor the activity of the muscles. The gait analysis will consider two different kinds of signals:
> Spatio-temporal gait parameters (velocity, step length, cadence, balance, double support, single support and joint angles);
> EMG (muscles activity).
Author: Pedro Pereira
Type: MSc thesis
Partner: Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto
Year: 2015
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