Quantitative comparison of marker attachment methods for hand motion analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare and quantify the angle difference among marker attachment methods for kinematic evaluation. For static evaluation, a hand mock-up was designed and used in single trials of different marker attachment methods. The mean absolute angle difference between the marker attachment methods and hand mock-up was not statistically significant. For dynamic evaluation, the gripping task began when a participant gripped a cylinder. The main effect of the marker set (p < .049) was significant. Thus, the use of one marker per joint is recommended for static evaluation because it causes less discomfort when a patient moves his/her hand and because utilizing the same marker placements for each subject is easy. For dynamic evaluation, the use of three markers per segment or a cluster marker is recommended because they are less affected by skin movement.

Keywords:

• hand biomechanics
• motion analysis
• marker attachment method
• angle

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) [No. 2012R1A2A2A01005574].