Highly-Individualized Physical Therapy Instruction Beyond the Clinic Using Wearable Inertial Sensors

Musculoskeletal conditions, often requiring rehabilitation, affect one-third of the U.S. population annually. This paper presents rehabilitation assistive technology that includes body-worn motion sensors and a mobile application extends reach physical specialist beyond clinic to ensure home exercises are performed with same precision as under clinical supervision. Assisted by in clinic, wearable user interface developed allow capture individualized unique patient’s abilities. Beyond setting, system can assist patients providing real-time corrective feedback repeat these through correct complete arc for prescribed number repetitions. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is used on body part be exercised its pose. In this paper, we present kinematics data processing approach defining custom flexibility terms where it worn nature exercise, well parameters. The tested two perfromed healthy individual demonstrate feasibility accuracy approach. We how improve exercise adherence assisting users reaching full range stay ideal plane hold time. Preliminary results from an ongoing trial presented.