Real-time, accurate, and open source upper-limb musculoskeletal analysis using a single RGBD camera

Abstract

Biomechanical biofeedback may enhance rehabilitation and provide clinicians with more objective task evaluation. These feedbacks often rely on expensive motion capture systems, which restricts their widespread use, leading to the development of computer vision-based methods. These methods are subject to large joint angle errors, considering the upper limb, and exclude the scapula and clavicle motion in the analysis. Our open-source approach offers a user-friendly solution for high-fidelity upper-limb kinematics using a single low-cost RGBD camera and includes semi-automatic skin marker labeling. Real-time biomechanical analysis, ranging from kinematics to muscle force estimation, was conducted on eight participants performing a hand-cycling motion to demonstrate the applicability of our approach on the upper limb. Markers were recorded by the RGBD camera and an optoelectronic camera system, considered as a reference. Muscle activity and external load were recorded using eight EMG and instrumented hand pedals, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis revealed significant agreements in the 3D markers' positions between the two motion capture methods, with errors averaging 3.3$\pm$3.9 mm. For the biomechanical analysis, the level of agreement was sensitive to whether the same marker set was used. For example, joint angle differences averaging 2.3$\pm$2.8° when using the same marker set, compared to 4.5$\pm$2.9° otherwise. Biofeedback from the RGBD camera was provided at 63 Hz. Our study introduces a novel method for using an RGBD camera as a low-cost motion capture solution, emphasizing its potential for accurate kinematic reconstruction and comprehensive upper-limb biomechanical studies.