Evaluation of spinal posture using Microsoft Kinect™: A preliminary case-study with 98 volunteers

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Imaging
• Ergonomics

Background:

• Spinal curvature assessment is crucial for diagnosing conditions like scoliosis.
• Traditional methods can be invasive, costly, or involve radiation exposure.
• There is a need for accessible, radiation-free screening tools for spinal posture.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel, non-invasive method for assessing spinal curvature using Microsoft Kinect™.
• To determine the reliability of this approach in identifying postural deviations.
• To assess the prevalence of shoulder height differences in a cohort of volunteers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Microsoft Kinect™ to capture 3D surface data of the dorsal skin.
• Reconstructed 3D models of subjects in various postures.
• Calculated shoulder height difference by quantifying the angular slope between scapulae.

Main Results:

• The novel Kinect™-based method proved to be non-invasive, radiation-free, and low-cost.
• 68.37% of 98 volunteers exhibited shoulder height differences exceeding 1°.
• Reported history of loads and lesions correlated with increased angular slope, indicating potential spinal issues.

Conclusions:

• The Kinect™-based 3D surface scanning offers a promising, reliable method for spinal posture assessment.
• This approach can be foundational for pre-clinical and industrial ergonomics screening.
• Further research should compare this method with traditional imaging and clinical evaluations.