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This paper proposes a free dataset, available at the following link, named KIMORE, regarding different rehabilitation exercises collected by a RGB-D sensor. Three data inputs including RGB, depth videos, and skeleton joint positions were recorded during five physical exercises, specific for low back pain and accurately selected by physicians. For each exercise, the dataset also provides a set of features, specifically defined by the physicians, and relevant to describe its scope. These features, validated with respect to a stereophotogrammetric system, can be analyzed to compute a score for the subject’s performance. The dataset also contains an evaluation of the same performance provided by the clinicians, through a clinical questionnaire. The impact of KIMORE has been analyzed by comparing the output obtained by an example of rule and template-based approaches and the clinical score. The dataset presented is intended to be used as a benchmark for human movement assessment in a rehabilitation scenario in order to test the effectiveness and the reliability of different computational approaches. Unlike other existing datasets, the KIMORE merges a large heterogeneous population of 78 subjects, divided into 2 groups with 44 healthy subjects and 34 with motor dysfunctions. It provides the most clinically-relevant features and the clinical score for each exercise. 1 https://univpm-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/p008099_staff_univpm_it/EiwbKIzk6N9NoJQx4J8aubIBx0o7tIa1XwclWp1NmRkA-w?e=F3jtBk [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this paper, squat named by Authors unconstrained because performed without constrains related to feet position, speed, knee maximum angle to be reached, was tested as motor task revealing differences in functional performance after knee arthroplasty. It involves large joints ranges of motion, does not compromise joint safety and requires accurate control strategies to maintain balance. Methods: Motion capture techniques were used to study squat on a healthy control group (CTR) and on three groups, each characterised by a specific knee arthroplasty design: a Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA), a Mobile Bearing and a Fixed Bearing Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty (respectively MBUA and FBUA). Squat was analysed during descent, maintenance and ascent phase and described by speed, angular kinematics of lower and upper body, the Center of Pressure (CoP) trajectory and muscle activation timing of quadriceps and biceps femoris. Results: Compared to CTR, for TKA and MBUA knee maximum flexion was lower, vertical speed during descent and ascent reduced and the duration of whole movement was longer. CoP mean distance was higher for all arthroplasty groups during descent as higher was, CoP mean velocity for MBUA and TKA during ascent and descent. Conclusions: Unconstrained squat is able to reveal differences in the functional performance among control and arthroplasty groups and between different arthroplasty designs. Considering the similarity index calculated for the variables showing statistically significance, FBUA performance appears to be closest to that of the CTR group. Level of evidence: III a. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study set out to ascertain the incidence of a heel strike transient (HST) and to verify whether modifications of muscle activation time could be correlated with the presence and the characteristic of a HST. Lower limb kinematics, kinetics and surface electromyography (SEMG) of normal subjects were examined during barefoot walking. A short-lived sharp HST was present in 76% of the trials while a smooth HST, of longer duration was seen in 13.3% of the trials. The transient phenomenon was absent in the remaining 10.7% of trials. The SEMG showed that alteration in the activation timing of muscles correlated with the presence of a HST. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work proposes a real-time monitoring tool aimed to support clinicians for remote assessing exercise performances during home-based rehabilitation. The study relies on clinician indications to define kinematic features, that describe five motor tasks (i.e., the lateral tilt of the trunk, lifting of the arms, trunk rotation, pelvis rotation, squatting) usually adopted in the rehabilitation program for axial disorders. These features are extracted by the Kinect v2 skeleton tracking system and elaborated to return disaggregated scores, representing a measure of subjects performance. A bell-shaped function is used to rank the patient performances and to provide the scores. The proposed rehabilitation tool has been tested on 28 healthy subjects and on 29 patients suffering from different neurological and orthopedic diseases. The reliability of the study has been performed through a cross-sectional controlled design methodology, comparing algorithm scores with respect to blinded judgment provided by clinicians through filling a specific questionnaire. The use of task-specific features and the comparison between the clinical evaluation and the score provided by the instrumental approach constitute the novelty of the study. The proposed methodology is reliable for measuring subject’s performance and able to discriminate between the pathological and healthy condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gait analysis is recognized as a useful assessment tool in the field of human movement research. However, doubts remain on its real effectiveness as a clinical tool, i.e. on its capability to change the diagnostic-therapeutic practice. In particular, the conditions in which evidence of a favorable cost-benefit ratio is found and the methodology for properly conducting and interpreting the exam are not identified clearly. To provide guidelines for the use of Gait Analysis in the context of rehabilitation medicine, SIAMOC (the Italian Society of Clinical Movement Analysis) promoted a National Consensus Conference which was held in Bologna on September 14th, 2013. The resulting recommendations were the result of a three-stage process entailing i) the preparation of working documents on specific open issues, ii) the holding of the consensus meeting, and iii) the drafting of consensus statements by an external Jury. The statements were formulated based on scientific evidence or experts' opinion, when the quality/quantity of the relevant literature was deemed insufficient. The aim of this work is to disseminate the consensus statements. These are divided into 13 questions grouped in three areas of interest: 1) General requirements and management, 2) Methodological and instrumental issues, and 3) Scientific evidence and clinical appropriateness. SIAMOC hopes that this document will contribute to improve clinical practice and help promoting further research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]