School of Physiotherapy

School of Physiotherapy

University of Otago

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keeping them physical
Wellbeing through excellence in movement and care

Page updated 16/05/2008 by Bruce Knox

Equipment

Motion Analysis System

The Biomechanics Laboratory features a 12-camera Motion Analysis [Motion Analysis Corporation, Santa Rosa, CA] system that can capture complex motion with extreme accuracy at up to 500 images per second. This is the animation industry's premier passive (no wires attached) 3D optical motion capture system. The system uses high resolution Eagle digital video cameras, infra-red illumination and retro-reflective markers place on the subject. Its real-time capability allow us to see captured results at the same instant as the subject is performing a specific task.

The motion capture system also includes a 64-channnel Analogue to Digital (AD) conversion card to collect simultaneous analogue data. Including force plates to record ground reaction forces, electromyography (muscle activity recording), electro-goniometers, load cells or foot switches to provide a comprehensive analysis of any movement.

Force Plates

The Biomechanics Laboratory has two AMTI [Advanced Mechanical Technology Inc., Watertown, MA] force plates that measure ground reaction forces. These measure the location of the centre of pressure and reaction forces in three dimensions (vertical plus two horizontal forces). The force plates are floor mounted and can be moved side by side (lifting, balance) or offset (walking) to measure the ground reaction forces under each foot.

Electromyography (EMG)

The Biomechanics Laboratory has a TeleMyo 2400T-G2 12 channel telemetric SEMG system [Noraxon, Scottsdale, Arizona]. Electromyography places electrodes on the skin surface to measure the electrical activity of underlying muscles. Electromyography gives insight into muscle recruitment and muscle temporal activity in the generation of movement.

Software

LabView [National Instruments Corporation, Austin, TX]: software for analogue data collection, signal conditioning and analysis.
The Laboratory also has specific biomechanics software for clinical gait analysis or more generic motion analysis. Providing sophisticated 3D kinematic and kinetic movement analysis.