Optoelectric (Selspot) gait measurement in two- and three-dimensional space--a preliminary report

Traditional studies of human movement by photographic methods require tedious, error-prone, and expensive data reduction. Various optoelectronic methods have been designed. A commercially available system, SELSPOT, purchased for the Cleveland VAMC Motion Study Laboratory, is described. Sequentially pulsed light-emitting-diode targets on the subject are observed, with data fed into a computer for combination with force plate data (Cohen, Orin, and Marsolais, Technical Note, BPR 10-33). Calibration methods, errors, and practical difficulties are described. Though problems remain after revisions (see progress reports in BPR), it is believed that SELSPOT offers potential for clinically useful real-time acquisition and analysis of three-dimensional data.