I-Corps: Assessment of the feasibility of commercialization of a 3D markerless motion capture system with application to physical therapy

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

A low cost and accurate motion capture system is a fundamental improvement in the technology that is available to physician, physical therapists, and other medical professionals to diagnosis, treat, and monitor patients with movement disorders in the lower-extremity. Currently motion analysis systems cost tens of thousands dollars; require dedicated space and special training for operations. Therefore the cost to perform motion analysis is up to one thousand dollars per session and only available in large hospitals. The availability of low-cost depth cameras brings the possibility to perform motion analysis with a fraction of the current cost. In this proposal, the team has developed a clinically viable 3D markerless motion capture system that meets the strident needs of the medical community for a high accuracy and precision as well as convenience and affordability. The team proposes to use a commercially available depth and color camera to accurately and precisely define movement mechanics of injured populations. The team has developed an effective system for human pose tracking that achieves comparative accuracy to marker-based systems. Moreover, the team has developed novel algorithms for complex human pose tracking in general scenes that achieves state-of-the-art results. The proposed system will build upon the current pipeline of novel algorithms to achieve higher accuracy and robustness for the relatively better controlled motions commonly used in clinics.