Accelerations of the head are the likely cause of concussion injury, but identifying the specific etiology of concussion has been difficult due to the lack of a valid animal or computer model. Contact sports, in which concussions are a rising health care concern, offer a unique research laboratory environment. However, measuring head acceleration in the field has many challenges including the need for large population sampling because of the relatively low incidence of concussions. We report a novel approach for calculating linear acceleration that can be incorporated into a head-mounted system for on-field use during contact sports. The advantages of this approach include the use of single-axis linear accelerometers, which reduce costs, and a nonorthogonal arrangement of the accelerometers, which simplifies the design criteria for a head-mounted and helmet compatible system. The purpose of this study was to describe the algorithm and evaluate its accuracy for measuring linear acceleration magnitude and impact location using computer simulation and experimental tests with various accelerometer configurations. A 10% error in magnitude and a 10 deg error in impact location were achieved using as few as six single-axis accelerometers mounted on a hemispherical headform.
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e-mail: joseph_crisco@brown.edu
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December 2004
Technical Briefs
An Algorithm for Estimating Acceleration Magnitude and Impact Location Using Multiple Nonorthogonal Single-Axis Accelerometers
Joseph J. Crisco,
e-mail: joseph_crisco@brown.edu
Joseph J. Crisco
Department of Orthopaedics, Brown Medical School/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
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Richard M. Greenwald
Richard M. Greenwald
Simbex LLC, Lebanon, NH
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
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Joseph J. Crisco
Department of Orthopaedics, Brown Medical School/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI
e-mail: joseph_crisco@brown.edu
Jeffrey J. Chu
Simbex LLC, Lebanon, NH
Richard M. Greenwald
Simbex LLC, Lebanon, NH
Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Contributed by the Bioengineering Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICAL ENGINEERING. Manuscript received November 20, 2003; revised manuscript received June 9, 2004. Associate Editor: Philip V. Bayly.
J Biomech Eng. Dec 2004, 126(6): 849-854 (6 pages)
Published Online: February 4, 2005
Article history
Received:
November 20, 2003
Revised:
June 9, 2004
Online:
February 4, 2005
Citation
Crisco, J. J., Chu , J. J., and Greenwald , R. M. (February 4, 2005). "An Algorithm for Estimating Acceleration Magnitude and Impact Location Using Multiple Nonorthogonal Single-Axis Accelerometers ." ASME. J Biomech Eng. December 2004; 126(6): 849–854. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.1824135
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