Accelerometer Array and Method to Obtain a 3D Representation of the Spine Posture

Abstract

Back pain is one of the most common health problems in developed societies. Stress and bad habits like having bad postures are often behind, so postural hygiene is highly recommended to prevent it. Systems to measure back posture based on piezoresistive or optical bend sensors, or on inertial sensors have been reported. This paper presents one based on eight accelerometers connected through I2C bus to a small board that provides wireless communication. Data is collected and sent to a PC for analysis and warning. The spine is modelled as a kinematic chain where each segment has an associated accelerometer, and a 3D representation of the spine is obtained for easy interpretation of data.