A new calibration method for 3-D position measurement in biomedical applications

Aim of the study was to determine practicality and to test accuracy of a new calibration technique firstly introduced in 1998 by Schmid and Bess for biomechanical human tests. This technique enables three-dimensional calibration of camera positions as well as the calculation of internal and external camera parameters. It can be performed unlike other three-dimensional calibration techniques as the first with a planar calibration grid and only one single video image (of each camera) to calculate all 3-D reconstruction parameters. The tests were performed using two albavision ACAM G-Cameras with a resolution of 480 (h) by 420 (v) pixels. The achievable accuracy of distance measurements in recent commercially available motion measurement systems usually ranges from about 0.09% to 1.77% and higher. Accuracy of 0.0373% was determined with the new calibration technique. The 95% confidence interval ranged at +/- 0.02322 mm, the RMS (root mean square) error at 0.18776 mm. Better accuracy, easier and faster calibration are features of this new calibration technique. Required time for complete calibration ranged below one minute. Anticipating this new method will have good practicality in gait analysis or in research and industry due to increased accuracy and ease of use.