Capturing and analysis of knee-joint signals using acceleremoters

Complaints about knee-joint problems exist especially at older ages. Methods of X-ray, MRI and an invasive method of artroscopy can be used for diagnosing. Purpose of this study is to develop a diagnosing aid device and a non-invasive method that supports diagnosing. With the developed USB interfaced data capturing system, acceleration and vibration data obtained from accelerometers placed onto a knee-joint have been analyzed by using independent component analysis (ICA). Thus, knee signals on the desired location can be obtained noise-free and independently from signals of other locations. Since, simultaneous data capturing is necessary to increase the success of ICA, accelerometers, hardware and software have been selected and designed to provide simultaneous run. ICA is a statistical method for blind source separation and separates a mixture signal into its independent components. Data extracted from desired location can be analyzed easily. ICA is also a successful method in noise removal.