RECORD: A Simple, Low-Cost, and Open-Source IMU-Based Tool for the Diagnosis of Body Schema Distortions

In the psychology community, there is currently no standardized framework for assessing body schema distortions, either in research or clinical practice. To address this gap, we propose RECORD (RECOnfiguRing the Assessment of the boDy in motion), a cost-effective clinical tool designed to assess shoulder rotation as patient walks towards doorways.

RECORD utilizes a single wireless pod, featuring an inertial measurement unit (IMU), placed on the acromion, which is adequate for measuring shoulder rotation. Our approach uses quaternion-based algorithm for robustness. We provide a comparison with gold-standard motion capture system, along with performance metrics and benchmark testing.

The system has demonstrated a constant accuracy of 1.39° within the task range, regardless of the distance or movement performed by the subject.

The device is adapted for assessing shoulder rotation in clinical practice and in psychological research contexts. The source files of the RECORD device hardware, algorithms and software codes are available on the open-source GitHub RECORD repository to enable accessibility, as well as future contributions to benefit the community.