Quantification of the development of trunk control in healthy infants using inertial measurement units
J. Blok (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
M. Kok – Mentor (TU Delft - Team Manon Kok)
Heike Vallery – Mentor (TU Delft - Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Control)
Daniel Lemus Perez – Mentor (TU Delft - Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Control)
H.L.D. Horemans – Mentor (TU Delft - Biomechanical Engineering)
Eline van der Kruk – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Biomechatronics & Human-Machine Control)
L. M. Marchal-Crespo – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Human-Robot Interaction)
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Abstract
Trunk motor control is essential for the proper functioning of the upper extremities and is an important predictor of gait capacity in children with delayed development. Early diagnosis and intervention can potentially increase the trunk motor capabilities in later life. However, current tools used to assess the level of trunk motor control are largely observation-based and lack the sensitivity to change required to accurately monitor progress and effects of therapy in children below the age of 4. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use trunk-attached inertial measurement units (IMUs) to differentiate different levels of trunk motor control in this population. We performed experiments with seven children to examine the applicability of the RMS of jerk as an outcome metric for the level of trunk motor control. This study showed that the root mean square (RMS) of jerk decreases for ages up to 24 months, is relatively independent of data segment and length, and shows results similar to a more established method: the centre of pressure (COP) velocity. These findings suggest that the RMS of jerk shows potential as a metric for the differentiation of different trunk motor control levels. However, due to the small sample size, a follow-up study is necessary to verify and validate these results.