OBJECTIVE: Powered assistive devices need improved control intuitiveness to enhance their clinical adoption. Therefore, the intent of individuals should be identified and the device movement should adhere to it. Skeletal muscles contract synergistically to produce defined lower limb movements, so unique contraction patterns in lower extremity musculature may provide a means of device joint control. Ultrasound (US) imaging enables direct measurement of the local deformation of muscle segments. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using US to estimate human lower limb movements. METHODS: A novel algorithm was developed to calculate US features of the rectus femoris muscle during a non-weight-bearing knee flexion/extension experiment by nine able-bodied subjects. Five US features of the skeletal muscle tissue were studied, namely thickness, angle between aponeuroses, pennation angle, fascicle length, and echogenicity. A multiscale ridge filter was utilized to extract the structures in the image and a random sample consensus (RANSAC) model was used to segment muscle aponeuroses and fascicles. A localization scheme further guided RANSAC to enable tracking in a US image sequence. Gaussian process regression models were trained using segmented features to estimate both knee joint angle and angular velocity. RESULTS: The proposed segmentation-estimation approach could estimate knee joint angle and angular velocity with an average root mean square error value of 7.45° and 0.262 rad/s, respectively. The average processing rate was 3-6 frames/s that is promising toward real-time implementation. CONCLUSION: Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of using US to estimate human lower extremity motion. The ability of the algorithm to work in real time may enable the use of US as a neural interface for lower limb applications. SIGNIFICANCE: Intuitive intent recognition of human lower extremity movements using wearable US imaging may enable volitional assistive device control and enhance locomotor outcomes for those with mobility impairments.
OBJECTIVE: Powered assistive devices need improved control intuitiveness to enhance their clinical adoption. Therefore, the intent of individuals should be identified and the device movement should adhere to it. Skeletal muscles contract synergistically to produce defined lower limb movements, so unique contraction patterns in lower extremity musculature may provide a means of device joint control. Ultrasound (US) imaging enables direct measurement of the local deformation of muscle segments. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using US to estimate human lower limb movements. METHODS: A novel algorithm was developed to calculate US features of the rectus femoris muscle during a non-weight-bearing knee flexion/extension experiment by nine able-bodied subjects. Five US features of the skeletal muscle tissue were studied, namely thickness, angle between aponeuroses, pennation angle, fascicle length, and echogenicity. A multiscale ridge filter was utilized to extract the structures in the image and a random sample consensus (RANSAC) model was used to segment muscle aponeuroses and fascicles. A localization scheme further guided RANSAC to enable tracking in a US image sequence. Gaussian process regression models were trained using segmented features to estimate both knee joint angle and angular velocity. RESULTS: The proposed segmentation-estimation approach could estimate knee joint angle and angular velocity with an average root mean square error value of 7.45° and 0.262 rad/s, respectively. The average processing rate was 3-6 frames/s that is promising toward real-time implementation. CONCLUSION: Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of using US to estimate human lower extremity motion. The ability of the algorithm to work in real time may enable the use of US as a neural interface for lower limb applications. SIGNIFICANCE: Intuitive intent recognition of human lower extremity movements using wearable US imaging may enable volitional assistive device control and enhance locomotor outcomes for those with mobility impairments.
Authors: Nima Akhlaghi; Clayton A Baker; Mohamed Lahlou; Hozaifah Zafar; Karthik G Murthy; Huzefa S Rangwala; Jana Kosecka; Wilsaan M Joiner; Joseph J Pancrazio; Siddhartha Sikdar Journal: IEEE Trans Biomed Eng Date: 2015-11-05 Impact factor: 4.538
Authors: Levi J Hargrove; Aaron J Young; Ann M Simon; Nicholas P Fey; Robert D Lipschutz; Suzanne B Finucane; Elizabeth G Halsne; Kimberly A Ingraham; Todd A Kuiken Journal: JAMA Date: 2015-06-09 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Michael R Tucker; Jeremy Olivier; Anna Pagel; Hannes Bleuler; Mohamed Bouri; Olivier Lambercy; José Del R Millán; Robert Riener; Heike Vallery; Roger Gassert Journal: J Neuroeng Rehabil Date: 2015-01-05 Impact factor: 4.262