Use of RGB-D Camera for Analysis of Compensatory Trunk Movements in Upper Limbs Rehabilitation

Assistive Robotics has been shown to be an important tool in the patient rehabilitation process. One of the first steps in this process is to capture the movements performed by the patient to analyze the movement restrictions presented. The present work presents a brief review of the state of the art as well as the development of a Range of Motion (ROM) measurement system based on the position of the joints in the three-dimensional space of the upper limbs using the Kinect sensor. In addition, preliminary tests to capture compensatory movements of the trunk are presented aiming to investigate the feasibility of using such system as a tool for detecting compensatory movements. Therefore, a methodology is proposed that uses the Kinect sensor to capture the range of motion and compensatory movements in order to assist in the physiotherapeutic process. The results obtained showed the feasibility of using the proposed system for the detection and capture of both the range of motion and the compensatory movement of the trunk.