1 Copyright © 2012 by ASME
WIRELESS MULTI-SENSOR INTEGRATION FOR ACL REHABILITATION USING BIOFEEDBACK
MECHANISM
SMN Arosha Senanayake
Department of Computer Science,
University of Brunei
Gadong BE1410,
Brunei
arosha.senanayake@ubd.edu.bn
Owais Ahmed Malik
Department of Computer Science,
University of Brunei
Gadong BE1410,
Brunei
11H1202@ubd.edu.bn
Pg. Mohammad Iskandar
Department of Applied Physics,
University of Brunei
Gadong BE1410,
Brunei
iskandar.petra@ubd.edu.bn
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to propose an integrated
motion analysis system for monitoring and assisting the
rehabilitation process for athletes based on biofeedback
mechanism, particularly for human subjects already undergone
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury operations and thus
about to start the rehabilitation process. For this purpose,
different types of parameters (kinematics and neuromuscular
signals) from multi-sensors integration are combined to
analyze the motion of affected athletes. Signals acquired from
sensors are pre-processed in order to prepare the pattern set for
intelligent algorithms to be integrated for possible
implementation of effective assistive rehabilitation processing
tools for athletes and sports orthopedic surgeons. Based on the
characteristics of different signals invoked during the
rehabilitation process, two different intelligent approaches
(Elman RNN and Fuzzy Logic) have been tested. The newly
introduced integrated multi-sensors approach will assist in
identifying the clinical stage of the recovery process of
athletes after ACL repair and will facilitate clinical decision-
making during the rehabilitation process. The use of wearable
wireless miniature sensors will provide an un-obstructive
assessment of the kinematics and neuromuscular changes
occurring after ACL reconstruction in an athlete.
INTRODUCTION
Human motion analysis is an active research area due
to its importance and applications in different fields including
pathology identification [1,2], elderly fall prevention[3],
rehabilitation of patients[4,5] and sports [6]. In the area of
sports medicine, motion analysis has been used for helping in
recovery from injuries, designing new products and improving
the skills of athletes. Motion analysis can help in designing
rehabilitation techniques for athletes suffering from lower
limb injuries.
One of the most common lower limb injuries that
may adversely affect the motion and thus career of an athlete
is the knee injury due to Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)
rupture. The data on surgical reconstruction in sporting
population revealed varying estimated incidence of ACL [7,
8]. There are different causes of ACL injury in sports
including sudden stops during running, quick change of
direction, pivoting, incorrect landing and direct blow to knee
are some of the important causes of ACL sprain or tears.
Proceedings of the ASME 2012 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition
IMECE2012
November 9-15, 2012, Houston, Texas, USA
IMECE2012-87809