[Reliability and validity studies with the triflexometer, a new method for assessing form and flexibility of the spine].

Developed by Orthotronic Medizintechnik GmbH, the so-called Triflexometer, version 3.22 was tested for its reliability and validity in measuring spinal posture and mobility. Reliability studies on 20 healthy subjects have shown this measurement method to be reliable, yet intra- and inter-rater reliability analyses also revealed that even for this healthy population discrepancies in the various measures may occur, both due to differences in compliance as well as fatigue and learning effects, and due to difficulties in stabilization of the normal posture, to a lesser extent due to certain specifics of the measurement technique (placing the markers, guiding the sensor).

[A new measuring device for computer-assisted imaging of the form and flexibility of the spine].

Our aim is to present a new method to examine spinal mobility and spine shape excluding torsional scoliosis. In comparison to measuring devices of the spine used so far, this noninvasive and easy to use method documents altered patterns of intervertebral mobility of the lumbar and thoracic spine. This may lead to a broader application of the triflexometer as a diagnostic tool for orthopedic and rheumatologic diseases that can decrease the frequency of X-ray exposure if used in combination with radiographs.