A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking
Clinical motion analysis plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of mobility-limiting diseases. Within this assessment, relative (point-to-point) tracking of extremities could benefit from increased accuracy. Given the limitations of current wearable sensor technology, supplementary s...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/495 |
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| author | Johannes Hoffmann Henrik Wolframm Erik Engelhardt Moritz Boueke Tobias Schmidt Julius Welzel Michael Höft Walter Maetzler Gerhard Schmidt |
| author_facet | Johannes Hoffmann Henrik Wolframm Erik Engelhardt Moritz Boueke Tobias Schmidt Julius Welzel Michael Höft Walter Maetzler Gerhard Schmidt |
| author_sort | Johannes Hoffmann |
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| description | Clinical motion analysis plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of mobility-limiting diseases. Within this assessment, relative (point-to-point) tracking of extremities could benefit from increased accuracy. Given the limitations of current wearable sensor technology, supplementary spatial data such as distance estimates could provide added value. Therefore, we propose a distributed magnetic tracking system based on early-stage demonstrators of novel magnetoelectric (ME) sensors. The system consists of two body-worn magnetic actuators and four ME sensor arrays (body-worn and fixed). It is enabled by a comprehensive signal processing framework with sensor-specific signal enhancement and a gradient descent-based system calibration. As a pilot study, we evaluated the technical feasibility of the described system for motion tracking in general (Scenario A) and for operation during treadmill walking (Scenario B). At distances of up to 60 cm, we achieved a mean absolute distance error of 0.4 cm during gait experiments. Our results show that the modular system is capable of centimeter-level motion tracking of the lower extremities during treadmill walking and should therefore be investigated for clinical gait parameter assessment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-896ce810174b41de9e7fc928fbde323d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-896ce810174b41de9e7fc928fbde323d2025-01-24T13:49:08ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-01-0125249510.3390/s25020495A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion TrackingJohannes Hoffmann0Henrik Wolframm1Erik Engelhardt2Moritz Boueke3Tobias Schmidt4Julius Welzel5Michael Höft6Walter Maetzler7Gerhard Schmidt8Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Neurology, Kiel University, 24105 Kiel, GermanyDepartment of Electrical and Information Engineering, Kiel University, 24143 Kiel, GermanyClinical motion analysis plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of mobility-limiting diseases. Within this assessment, relative (point-to-point) tracking of extremities could benefit from increased accuracy. Given the limitations of current wearable sensor technology, supplementary spatial data such as distance estimates could provide added value. Therefore, we propose a distributed magnetic tracking system based on early-stage demonstrators of novel magnetoelectric (ME) sensors. The system consists of two body-worn magnetic actuators and four ME sensor arrays (body-worn and fixed). It is enabled by a comprehensive signal processing framework with sensor-specific signal enhancement and a gradient descent-based system calibration. As a pilot study, we evaluated the technical feasibility of the described system for motion tracking in general (Scenario A) and for operation during treadmill walking (Scenario B). At distances of up to 60 cm, we achieved a mean absolute distance error of 0.4 cm during gait experiments. Our results show that the modular system is capable of centimeter-level motion tracking of the lower extremities during treadmill walking and should therefore be investigated for clinical gait parameter assessment.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/495digital signal processinggait analysismagnetic motion trackingmagnetoelectric sensortechnical validation |
| spellingShingle | Johannes Hoffmann Henrik Wolframm Erik Engelhardt Moritz Boueke Tobias Schmidt Julius Welzel Michael Höft Walter Maetzler Gerhard Schmidt A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking Sensors digital signal processing gait analysis magnetic motion tracking magnetoelectric sensor technical validation |
| title | A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking |
| title_full | A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking |
| title_fullStr | A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking |
| title_short | A Magnetoelectric Distance Estimation System for Relative Human Motion Tracking |
| title_sort | magnetoelectric distance estimation system for relative human motion tracking |
| topic | digital signal processing gait analysis magnetic motion tracking magnetoelectric sensor technical validation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/2/495 |
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