Comparing a Portable Motion Analysis System against the Gold Standard for Potential Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury...

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation Engineering

Background:

• Knee kinematics in drop vertical jumps are linked to non-contact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk.
• The accuracy of the Microsoft Kinect V2 for tracking knee angles during this movement requires validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the accuracy and reliability of the Kinect V2 for measuring coronal and sagittal knee angles during a drop vertical jump.
• To determine if Kinect V2 data aligns with a gold-standard motion analysis system for screening ACL injury risk.

Main Methods:

• Eleven participants performed three drop vertical jumps.
• Knee kinematics were simultaneously recorded using Kinect V2 and a Vicon motion analysis system.
• Initial coronal, peak coronal, and peak sagittal knee angles were analyzed for both legs.

Main Results:

• Kinect V2 showed excellent agreement (ICC > 0.75) with the Vicon system for all measured knee angles.
• A non-significant difference was found for most parameters, except the right leg's peak sagittal angle (7.74 degrees, p=0.008).
• Moderate frame-to-frame variability was noted for Kinect V2 coronal angles.

Conclusions:

• The Kinect V2 provides sufficiently accurate knee coronal and sagittal angles during drop vertical jumps.
• Kinect-based portable motion analysis is suitable for screening individuals at risk of non-contact ACL injuries.