How to use DAQ in misuration of Range of Motion (ROM)?

[circ80]

Hi, i'm a student of physiotherapy!

I would do a study for the end of my studies..

I would misure the variation of range of motion (articular range) after apply tape on specific muscles..

So:

i want misure the range of motion of a articolation

i want apply a tape and after some time i want misure the range of motion of articolation and see if there is difference!

but, i would misure accuratly the range of motion and i would misure the movement in 3D because our movement are always in three floors of movement. So i dont't want use a classic goniometer..

So, i'm asking my self if is possible to use elecrodes which misure the movement in the space and, if yes, wich instrument i have need to do is.

Maybe is a simple answer, but i'm only a student and i don't know so well the informatic world..

Thank you for your attention, i hope some one can help me..

and sorry for my not so good english (i'm italian ). If  i not explane well my project please do questions!

bye bye!

[Steve.J]

I don't know of any way to get absolute position measurements of a limb based on biopotentials (EMG, etc.) - I do no think it is possible.  EMG activity is related to activation of muscle tissue, which is related to force - not position.  So you can get high levels of EMG activity even when there is no movement (think of measuring EMG activity when a subject is trying to lift an immovable object - lots of muscle activity and effort, but no movement).

I think your best option to measure position in 3D is using motion tracking tools that are based on vision systems - the same technology used to capture the movement of athletes or actors to create 3D graphics for video games or special effects in movies.  This technology depends on putting markers on the body at strategic places (joints, etc.) and then using multiple cameras to simultaneously acquire the video of the subject.  Special software is then used to compute the position of the markers in space and then determine the position/angle of each body segment (lower leg, upper leg, torso, etc.).  If you are just trying to measure the position of one limb (maybe the arm before and after being taped) it could be a much simpler problem and you may only need to position a calibrated grid in the frame and take pictures and then analyze the pictures to determine the range of motion.

Good luck!

Steve