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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
06:52

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field

Published on: May 26, 2020

A Simple Minimum-Setup Pipeline for Using Leg-Worn Inertial Sensors to Track Knee Flexion: Validation on 10

Ke Song1, Josh R Baxter1

  • 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 26, 2026
PubMed
Summary

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Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer a practical way to track knee flexion continuously outside the lab. This new pipeline shows IMUs provide valid knee motion estimates comparable to optical systems for clinical research.

Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Wearable Technology
  • Musculoskeletal Health

Background:

  • Knee motion is vital for assessing chronic musculoskeletal diseases.
  • Traditional optical motion capture is limited to lab settings.
  • Continuous real-world knee motion monitoring is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a simple pipeline for leg-worn IMUs to estimate knee flexion.
  • To assess the concurrent validity of IMU-based knee flexion against optical motion capture.
  • To enable practical, continuous knee motion tracking for clinical research.

Main Methods:

  • Collected IMU data from thigh and shank sensors concurrently with optical motion capture (marker-based and markerless).
  • Utilized IMU functional alignment and data fusion to estimate knee flexion.
Keywords:
inertial measurement unitjoint anglekinematicslower limbmotion analysiswearable sensors

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Sit-to-stand-and-walk from 120% Knee Height: A Novel Approach to Assess Dynamic Postural Control Independent of Lead-limb
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Sit-to-stand-and-walk from 120% Knee Height: A Novel Approach to Assess Dynamic Postural Control Independent of Lead-limb

Published on: August 30, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field
06:52

An Inertial Measurement Unit Based Method to Estimate Hip and Knee Joint Kinematics in Team Sport Athletes on the Field

Published on: May 26, 2020

Sit-to-stand-and-walk from 120% Knee Height: A Novel Approach to Assess Dynamic Postural Control Independent of Lead-limb
08:24

Sit-to-stand-and-walk from 120% Knee Height: A Novel Approach to Assess Dynamic Postural Control Independent of Lead-limb

Published on: August 30, 2016

  • Compared IMU estimates to optical systems using Pearson correlation (Rxy) and RMSD across 10 common movements.

    • Main Results:

    • IMU-estimated knee flexion showed strong correlation with optical motion capture (Rxy ≥ 0.9).
    • Root-mean-square differences were lower for walking (4.4-6.0°) than running (5.4-9.4°).
    • The developed pipeline demonstrated clinical practicality and compatibility.

    Conclusions:

    • Wearable IMUs can reliably track knee flexion during daily activities, comparable to optical systems.
    • The simplified IMU pipeline enhances practicality for clinical research and patient monitoring.
    • Further research into IMU best practices is recommended for robust real-world knee mobility data.