Motion Capture Scoring for Physical Therapy Form
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for monitoring and coaching physical therapies are time-consuming, expensive, and logistically challenging, often resulting in inferior patient outcomes and higher re-injury rates due to lack of consistent and proper form adherence, especially for patients with limited mobility or resources.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for quantitatively assessing physical activity performance using motion capture data, which records and analyzes body motion to identify primary body elements, derive path characteristic metrics, and define an ideal activity path, enabling live feedback and monitoring without the need for on-site professionals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If on-site monitoring by clinicians is used to ensure proper physical therapy form and compliance, then physical therapy efficacy is improved, but time consumption and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy of the ideal physical therapy motion path and compares the patient's actual motion against this reference. Motion capture data is processed to generate a skeleton representation that is continuously compared to the ideal path, enabling automated form assessment without requiring constant clinician presence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual clinician monitoring with an automated computational system. Motion capture sensors, processors, and algorithms work together to automatically detect, track, and evaluate patient motion, substituting human effort with an automated technical system that provides continuous feedback.
2Reliability
If on-site clinician monitoring is implemented to ensure proper form adherence, then physical therapy efficacy is improved, but cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables patients to self-monitor their own physical therapy performance through automated feedback. The motion capture system and processing algorithms allow patients to independently assess their form compliance without requiring expensive professional oversight for every session, making the therapy self-sufficient.
Solution Approach 2:
By creating and using a digital reference copy of the ideal motion path, the system eliminates the need for repeated expensive clinician visits. The reference path can be stored and reused indefinitely, providing continuous guidance and assessment at minimal cost after initial setup.
3Reliability
If in-clinic or in-home physical therapy coaching is provided to improve compliance, then physical therapy efficacy is improved, but accessibility decreases for patients with limited mobility or resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system distributes a digital copy of the ideal motion path and assessment capabilities to patients through portable devices. This allows remote monitoring and feedback without requiring patients to travel to clinics, making physical therapy accessible to those with limited mobility or resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for physical clinician presence with an automated remote monitoring system. Motion capture technology and computational algorithms enable continuous assessment and feedback delivery through electronic interfaces, eliminating geographical and mobility barriers to access.
4Loss of time
If automated motion capture analysis is used to assess physical activity performance, then time consumption and cost are reduced, but measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex motion capture data into discrete anatomical landmarks and skeleton representations. By breaking down continuous motion data into identifiable body parts and their trajectories, the system can apply precise measurement criteria to each segment while maintaining overall efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms raw motion capture data into standardized parameters such as skeleton coordinates, path distances, and angular measurements. This parameter transformation enables consistent and precise automated comparison against ideal paths while maintaining processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for assessing the performance of a physical activity, including: recording motion capture data while a training subject demonstrates a physical activity sequence; identifying one or more primary body elements based on the motion capture data; deriving one or more path characteristic metrics based on a state variable set and the one or more primary body elements, wherein the state variable set defines the state of a body at any given time; and defining an ideal activity path of the physical activity sequence based on the one or more path characteristic metrics.