Article

Clinically feasible methods of assessing postural control such as timed standing
balance and functional reach tests provide important information, however, they
cannot accurately quantify specific postural control mechanisms. The Microsoft
Kinect system provides real-time anatomical landmark position data in three
dimensions (3D), and given that it is inexpensive, portable and simple to setup
it may bridge this gap. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the
Microsoft Kinect against a benchmark reference, a multiple-camera 3D motion
analysis system, in 20 healthy subjects during three postural control tests: (i)
forward reach, (ii) lateral reach, and (iii) single-leg eyes-closed standing
balance. For the reach tests, the outcome measures consisted of distance reached
and trunk flexion angle in the sagittal (forward reach) and coronal (lateral
reach) planes. For the standing balance test the range and deviation of movement
in the anatomical landmark positions for the sternum, pelvis, knee and ankle and
the lateral and anterior trunk flexion angle were assessed. The Microsoft Kinect
and 3D motion analysis systems had comparable inter-trial reliability (ICC
difference=0.06+/-0.05; range, 0.00-0.16) and excellent concurrent validity, with
Pearson's r-values >0.90 for the majority of measurements (r=0.96+/-0.04; range,
0.84-0.99). However, ordinary least products analyses demonstrated proportional
biases for some outcome measures associated with the pelvis and sternum. These
findings suggest that the Microsoft Kinect can validly assess kinematic
strategies of postural control. Given the potential benefits it could therefore
become a useful tool for assessing postural control in the clinical setting.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS