Smartphones are increasingly incorporated with features such as sensors and high resolution cameras that empower their capabilities, enabling their use for varied activities including human posture assessments. Previous reviews have discussed methods used in postural assessment but none of them focused exclusively on mobile applications. This paper systematically reviews mobile applications proposed for analyzing human posture based on alignment of the body in the sagittal and coronal plane. The main digital libraries were searched, 26 articles published between 2010 and 2020 were selected, and 13 mobile applications were identified, classified and discussed. Results showed that the use of mobile applications to assist with posture assessment have been demonstrated to be reliable, and this can contribute to clinical practice of health professionals, especially the assessment and reassessment phases of treatments, despite some variations when compared to traditional methods. Moreover, in the case of image-based applications, we highlight the advantage that measurements can be taken with the assessor at a certain distance with respect to the patient’s position, which is an important function for assessments performed in pandemic times such as the outbreak of COVID-19.

Human Pose Estimation (HPE) is a computer vision application that utilizes deep learning techniques to precisely locate Key Joint Points (KJPs), enabling the accurate description of a person’s pose. HPE models can be extended to facilitate Range of Motion (ROM) assessment by leveraging patient photographs. This study aims to evaluate and compare the performance of HPE models for assessing upper limbs ROM. A physiotherapist evaluated the degrees of ROM in shoulders (flexion, extension, and abduction) and elbows (flexion and extension) for fifty-two participants using both Universal Goniometer (UG) and five HPE models. Participants were instructed to repeat each movement three times to obtain measurements with the UG, then positioned while photos were captured using the NLMeasurer mobile application. The paired t-test, bias, and error measures were employed to evaluate the difference and agreement between measurement methods. Results indicated that the MoveNet Thunder INT16 model exhibited superior performance. Root Mean Square Errors obtained through this model were <10° in 8 of 10 analyzed movements. HPE models demonstrated better performance in shoulder flexion and abduction movements while exhibiting unsatisfactory performance in elbow flexion. Challenges such as image perspective distortion, environmental lighting conditions, images in monocular view, and complications in the pose may influence the models’ performance. Nevertheless, HPE models show promise in identifying KJPs and facilitating ROM measurements, potentially enhancing convenience and efficiency in assessments. However, their current accuracy for this application is unsatisfactory, highlighting the need for caution when considering automated upper limb ROM measurement with them. The implementation of these models in clinical practice does not diminish the crucial role of examiners in carefully inspecting images and making adjustments to ensure measurement reliability.

É cada vez maior o número de pessoas que apresentam debilidade motora em membros superiores e enfrentam deficiências funcionais, dependendo de terceiros para realizar suas atividades de rotina. A reabilitação motora é caracterizada por uma rotina diária de deslocamento para as clínicas, exercícios físicos repetitivos e um lento processo de recuperação funcional, o que torna o tempo de tratamento muito longo, levando o paciente à falta de compromisso e abandono do tratamento. Nesse contexto, soluções de gameterapia têm sido utilizadas para a reabilitação motora, em que se utilizam cenários interativos de jogos sérios para potencializar a humanização do tratamento e a experiência do paciente durante a execução de exercícios de recuperação das funções motoras. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar um jogo sério inteligente para reabilitação motora de membros superiores, a partir do uso de modelos de visão computacional e aprendizado de máquina integrados a tecnologias com ampla inserção social, como câmeras embutidas em smartphones, laptops ou integradas em TVs. Para implementação do jogo sério, foram utilizadas as linguagens de programação web, HTML, CSS e JavaScript, incorporando a biblioteca TensorFlow e o pacote PoseNet para controlar os movimentos do paciente nos cenários do jogo. O jogo sério desenvolvido contribui para tornar a gameterapia uma técnica presente e viável em clínicas de reabilitação e ambientes domiciliares, uma vez que sua inserção não depende de custos associados com a tecnologia ou adaptações de infraestrutura no ambiente.