A Dual X-Ray Absorptiometry Validated Geometric Model for the Calculation of Body Segment Inertial Parameters of Young Females.

The purpose of this study was to validate a new geometric solids model, developed to address the lack of female-specific models for body segment inertial parameter estimation. A second aim was to determine the effect of reducing the number of geometric solids used to model the limb segments on model accuracy. The full model comprised 56 geometric solids, the reduced model comprised 31, and the basic model comprised 16. Predicted whole-body inertial parameters were compared with direct measurements (reaction board, scales), and predicted segmental parameters with those estimated from whole-body dual x-ray absorptiometry scans for 28 females. The percentage root mean square error (%RMSE) for whole-body volume was <2.5% for all models and 1.9% for the full model. The %RMSE for whole-body center of mass location was <3.2% for all models. The %RMSE whole-body mass was <3.3% for the full model. The RMSE for segment masses was <0.5 kg (<0.5%) for all segments; Bland-Altman analysis showed the full and reduced models could adequately model thigh, forearm, foot, and hand segments, but the full model was required for the trunk segment. The proposed model was able to accurately predict body segment inertial parameters for females; more geometric solids are required to more accurately model the trunk.

Can activities of daily living contribute to EMG normalization for gait analysis?

This study aims to examine alternative methods of normalization that effectively reflect muscle activity as compared to Maximal Voluntary Contraction (MVC). EMG data recorded from knee flexion-extension muscles in 10 control subjects during the stance phase of the gait cycle were examined by adopting different approaches of normalization: MVC, Mean and Peak Dynamic during gait cycles, (MDM and PDM, respectively), Peak Dynamic during activities of daily living (ADLs), (*PDM), and a combination of ADLs and MVC(**PDM). Intra- and inter-individual variability were calculated to determine reliability and similarity to MCV. **PDM showed excellent reliability across subjects in comparison to MVC, where variance ratio ranged from 0.43-0.99 for **PDM and 0.79-1.08 for MVC. Coefficient of variability showed a similar trend to Variance Ratio, ranging from 0.60-1.25 for **PDM and 1.97-3.92 for MVC. Both MVC and **PDM, and to some extent *PDM, demonstrated good-to-excellent relative amplitude's matching; i.e. root mean square difference and absolute difference were both around 0.08 for Vastus medialis to about 4 for Medial gastrocnemius. It was concluded that **PDM and *PDM were reliable, **PDM mirrored MVC and thus could be used as an alternative to MVC for subjects who are unable to provide the required effort for MVC testing. Where MVC testing is not possible, *PDM is the next preferred option.

The effect of signal acquisition and processing choices on ApEn values: towards a "gold standard" for distinguishing effort levels from isometric force records.

Approximate entropy (ApEn) is frequently used to identify changes in the complexity of isometric force records with ageing and disease. Different signal acquisition and processing parameters have been used, making comparison or confirmation of results difficult. This study determined the effect of sampling and parameter choices by examining changes in ApEn values across a range of submaximal isometric contractions of the first dorsal interosseus. Reducing the sample rate by decimation changed both the value and pattern of ApEn values dramatically. The pattern of ApEn values across the range of effort levels was not sensitive to the filter cut-off frequency, or the criterion used to extract the section of data for analysis. The complexity increased with increasing effort levels using a fixed 'r' value (which accounts for measurement noise) but decreased with increasing effort level when 'r' was set to 0.1 of the standard deviation of force. It is recommended isometric force records are sampled at frequencies >200Hz, template length ('m') is set to 2, and 'r' set to measurement system noise or 0.1SD depending on physiological process to be distinguished. It is demonstrated that changes in ApEn across effort levels are related to changes in force gradation strategy.