Department of Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi 782-8502, Japan.
Sensors (Basel). 2023 May 20;23(10):4933. doi: 10.3390/s23104933.
Accurate estimation of the center of mass is necessary for evaluating balance control during quiet standing. However, no practical center of mass estimation method exists because of problems with estimation accuracy and theoretical validity in previous studies that used force platforms or inertial sensors. This study aimed to develop a method for estimating the center of mass displacement and velocity based on equations of motion describing the standing human body. This method uses a force platform under the feet and an inertial sensor on the head and is applicable when the support surface moves horizontally. We compared the center of mass estimation accuracy of the proposed method with those of other methods in previous studies using estimates from the optical motion capture system as the true value. The results indicate that the present method has high accuracy in quiet standing, ankle motion, hip motion, and support surface swaying in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions. The present method could help researchers and clinicians to develop more accurate and effective balance evaluation methods.
准确估计质心对于评估安静站立时的平衡控制非常重要。然而，由于之前使用力平台或惯性传感器的研究中存在估计精度和理论有效性的问题，因此没有实用的质心估计方法。本研究旨在开发一种基于描述人体站立的运动方程来估计质心位移和速度的方法。该方法使用脚部下方的力平台和头部上的惯性传感器，适用于支撑面水平移动的情况。我们将所提出的方法与之前研究中其他方法的质心估计精度进行了比较，使用光学运动捕捉系统的估计值作为真实值。结果表明，该方法在安静站立、踝关节运动、髋关节运动以及前后和左右方向的支撑面摆动方面具有较高的精度。本方法有助于研究人员和临床医生开发更准确、有效的平衡评估方法。
