A computer simulation of extremity kinematics-verification of the position and orientation of axes of motion for the arm and leg

Interactive, three-dimensional, computer graphic simulation of human kinematics is a growing field with applications in research, education, and clinical medicine and potentially powerful tools in computer aided surgical planning and prosthesis design. Systems have been reported which provide various capacities for modeling musculoskeletal kinematics. None to date are readily adapted to implement and verify multiple, hierarchically linked, independent axes of motion. Efforts reported here provide an interactive system with which the user defines a hierarchical structure with an imbedded linkage of revolutes (axes) that may be independently adjusted in position and orientation