Balance on different unstable supports: a complementary approach based on linear and non-linear analyses.

Maintenance of postural control is a complex task that requires the integration of different sensory-motor processes. To improve postural control, balance training is often implemented using unstable surfaces. Little is known, however, about how different surfaces compare in terms of postural control strategy.

Quantitative assessment of developmental levels in overarm throwing using wearable inertial sensing technology.

Motor proficiency in childhood has been recently recognised as a public health determinant, having a potential impact on the physical activity level and possible sedentary behaviour of the child later in life. Among fundamental motor skills, ballistic skills assessment based on in-field quantitative observations is progressively needed in the motor development community. The aim of this study was to propose an in-field quantitative approach to identify different developmental levels in overarm throwing.

Reliability of gait variability assessment in older individuals during a six-minute walk test.

Gait variability is an important indicator of gait performance. However, the reliability of the parameters used for its quantification, obtained from trunk linear accelerations, has still not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of gait variability assessment in healthy older individuals based on lower trunk accelerations during a six-minute walk test and to examine the reliability of the data acquired in shorter periods.

Are gait variability and stability measures influenced by directional changes?

Background: Many gait variability and stability measures have been proposed in the literature, with the aim to quantify gait impairment, degree of neuro-motor control and balance disorders in healthy and pathological subjects. These measures are often obtained from lower trunk acceleration data, typically acquired during rectilinear gait, but relevant experimental protocols and data processing techniques lack in standardization. Since directional changes represent an essential aspect of gait, the assessment of their influence on such measures is essential for standardization.

Metrics for describing soft-tissue artefact and its effect on pose, size, and shape of marker clusters.

In human movement analysis based on stereophotogrammetry, bone pose is reconstructed by observing a cluster of skin markers. Each marker undergoes a displacement relative to the underlying bone that is regarded as an artefact (soft-tissue artefact, STA) since it affects accuracy in bone pose estimation. This paper proposes a set of metrics for the statistical description of the STA and its effects on cluster pose, size, and shape, with the intent of contributing to a clearer knowledge of its characteristics, and consequently of setting the bases for the development of more accurate bone pose estimators than presently available.