Biomechanics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Biomechanics, including details on mechanics of living organisms, movement, locomotion, prosthetic limbs.

Precision and repeatability of the Optotrak 3020 motion measurement system.

States RA, Pappas E

Division of Physical Therapy, Long Island University--Brooklyn Campus, NY 11201, USA. Rebecca.States@LIU.EDU

Several motion analysis systems are used by researchers to quantify human motion and to perform accurate surgical procedures. The Optotrak 3020 is one of these systems and despite its widespread use there is not any published information on its precision and repeatability. We used a repeated measures design study to evaluate the precision and repeatability of the Optotrak 3020 by measuring distance and angle in three sessions, four distances and three conditions (motion, static vertical, and static tilted). Precision and repeatability were found to be excellent for both angle and distance although they decreased with increasing distance from the sensors and with tilt from the plane of the sensors. Motion did not have a significant effect on the precision of the measurements. In conclusion, the measurement error of the Optotrak is minimal. Further studies are needed to evaluate its precision and repeatability under human motion conditions.

Published 5 January 2006 in J Med Eng Technol, 30(1): 11-6.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Biomechanics Research Today. All Rights Reserved.