Measuring Skeletal Kinematics With Accelerometers on the Skin Surface

Gait analysis is an area within biomechanics that quantifies the motion of an animal. The most common motion analysis method uses cameras to track the position of markers on bodily surfaces over time. Although each species has a common skeletal frame to reference recorded motions, the soft tissue covering each is not rigid. Markers, therefore, experience motion relative to the bone and do not accurately portray underlying bone activity. This limits clinical use of motion studies and the understanding of joint motion.