Motion analysis of upper extremity using six degree of freedom sensors

Summary form only given. The accurate monitoring of extremity motion in the past has been a difficult and tedious task. A process has been developed using a McDonnel Douglas 3Space Digitizer and a Macintosh microcomputer which quickly and accurately provides motion data for a task involving general motion in three dimensions. The digitizer uses electromagnetic technology to create a field around an electronic source. The position and orientation of sensors placed within this field are then obtained and saved. This device has been used to monitor the motion of the hand with respect to the forearm. A specially developed glove was used to attach a sensor to the forearm and another to the back of the hand. The orientation data of the sensors throughout the task was then stored on a floppy disk and analyzed with the use of a microcomputer. Using mathematical transformations, the orientation of the hand is referenced to the orientation of the forearm; the sensor on the forearm is a moving reference frame. General extremity motion can be monitored with slight modifications of the device