Vibration analysis of human tibia: the effect of soft tissue on the output from skin-mounted accelerometers

The vibration response of bone can be recorded from a skin-mounted accelerometer, but only if it is sufficiently preloaded to overcome the damping effect of the interposed soft tissue. Excessive preload results in distortion of the recorded signal by a high-frequency component which probably originates in the supporting apparatus of the accelerometer. The required preload is proportional to the soft tissue thickness, but for any given soft tissue thickness, the range of allowable preload is fairly wide.