Motion capture systems for respiratory, gait and posture analysis

In this paper we have presented some interesting clinical uses of optoelectronic motion analysis systems. Such systems have shown a great reliability as for detecting even small movements, like those of thoraco-abdominal wall. This is a major advantage of this kind of motion capture, as demonstrated by the diffusion oh this kind of analysis for studying respiratory diseases. In particular, the possibility to measure several compartments independently has been shown to be very useful for clinical puroposes.To point out this advantage, we showed how posture (sitting or supine) can influence breathing kinematics among spinal cord injured patients, and the synchronization between upper thoracic and abdominal compartments. Other examples of how useful marker-based stereophotogrammetric systems in clinical practice are represented by the analysis of trunk alignment in Parkinson disease and the assessement of ankle foot orthoses in gait analysis, as well as for postural stability in amputee patients.Future directions of research would be to make motion analysis systems even more invasive; in this way of research, wearable sensors as well as sensorized fabrics promise to enhance body movements analysis, thus avoiding the limits of a laboratory setting.