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Lumbar posture assessment with fabric strain sensors
Linh Q Vu1, K Han Kim2, Lawrence J H Schulze3
1MEI Technologies, 2101 E NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX, 77058, USA.
Computers in Biology and Medicine
|March 17, 2020
Summary
Astronauts face low back pain risks during space walks. This study developed a fabric sensor method to measure lumbar motion, improving safety for space missions and potentially for Earth-based work.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Space Medicine
- Ergonomics
Background:
- Astronauts experience lumbar region deconditioning and biomechanical stress from spacesuits during extravehicular activity (EVA).
- Understanding lumbar kinematics within spacesuits is crucial for mitigating low back pain and injury risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a generalizable method for assessing complex astronaut lumbar motion.
- To utilize fabric strain sensors for non-invasive measurement of spinal movement inside spacesuits.
Main Methods:
- Ten fabric strain sensors were placed on the torso to collect measurements from 12 male participants performing 16 static lumbar postures.
- A multilayer principal component and regression-based model was employed to estimate lumbar joint angles from sensor data.
Main Results:
- The developed method achieved good accuracy for estimating lumbar flexion and lateral bending joint angles, with a mean error of less than 9 degrees.
- Estimation accuracy for axial rotation joint angles was lower, with a mean error of 13.7 degrees.
Conclusions:
- The fabric sensor-based method shows promise for measuring lumbar motion in suited astronauts.
- Further development could lead to applications in enhancing astronaut safety and potentially in civilian occupational ergonomics.
