Extracting data from {Zhu, 2019 #5} daily life activities is important in biomechanical applications to define exact boundary conditions for the intended use-based applications. Although optoelectronic camera-marker based systems are used as gold standard tools for medical applications, due to line-of-sight problem, there is a need for wearable, affordable motion capture (MOCAP) systems. We investigate the potential use of a wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU) based-wearable MOCAP system for biomechanical applications. The in vitro proof of concept is provided for the full lower body consisting of hip, knee, and ankle joints via controlled single-plane anatomical range of motion (ROM) simulations using an electrical motor, while collecting data simultaneously via opto-electronic markers and IMU sensors. On 15 healthy volunteers the flexion-extension, abduction-adduction, internal-external rotation (ROM) values of hip and, the flexion – extension ROM values of the knee and ankle joints are calculated for both systems. The Bland-Altman graphs showed promising agreement both for in vitro and in vivo experiments. The maximum Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE) between the systems in vitro was 3.4° for hip and 5.9° for knee flexion motion in vivo, respectively. The gait data of the volunteers were assessed between the heel strike and toe off events to investigate the limits of agreement, calculating the population averages and standard deviation for both systems over the gait cycle. The maximum difference was for the ankle joint <6°. The results show that proposed system could be an option as an affordable-democratic solution.

Lower body implants are designed according to the boundary conditions of gait data and tested against. However, due to diversity in cultural backgrounds, religious rituals might cause different ranges of motion and different loading patterns. Especially in the Eastern part of the world, diverse Activities of Daily Living (ADL) consist of salat, yoga rituals, and different style sitting postures. A database covering these diverse activities of the Eastern world is non-existent. This study focuses on data collection protocol and the creation of an online database of previously excluded ADL activities, targeting 200 healthy subjects via Qualisys and IMU motion capture systems, and force plates, from West and Middle East Asian populations with a special focus on the lower body joints. The current version of the database covers 50 volunteers for 13 different activities. The tasks are defined and listed in a table to create a database to search based on age, gender, BMI, type of activity, and motion capture system. The collected data is to be used for designing implants to allow these sorts of activities to be performed.

Human motion capture (MOCAP) systems are vital while determining the loads occurring at the joints. Most of the clinical MOCAP systems are very costly, requiring investment and infrastructure. Therefore, alternative technologies are in demand. In this study, a novel markerless wearable MOCAP system was assessed for its compatibility with a biomechanical modeling software. To collect evidence, experiments were designed in two stages for quantifying the range of motion (ROM) of the hip joint, in vitro and in vivo. Three constrained single-plane motions—abduction/adduction, flexion/extension, and internal/external rotation movements of the active leg—were analyzed. The data were collected from 14 healthy volunteers, using the wearable system and a medical grade optoelectronic MOCAP system simultaneously and compared against. For the in vitro study, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) for the abduction/adduction motion of the hip joint was calculated as 0.11 deg/0.30 deg and 0.11 deg/0.09 deg, respectively, for the wearable and the opto-electronic system. The in vivo Bland–Altman plots showed that the two system data are comparable. The simulation software is found compatible to run the simulations in offline mode. The wearable system could be utilized in the field of biomechanics software for running the kinetic simulations. The results demonstrated that the wearable system could be an alternative in the field of biomechanics based on the evidence collected.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the biomechanical behaviors of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and traditional materials (titanium and fiber) when used to restore tooth defects in the form of prefabricated post or customized post via computational modelling. Methods: First, the prototype of natural tooth, and the prototypes of prefabricated post and customized post were established, respectively, whilst the residual root was restored with dentin ferrule using reverse engineering methods. Then, the stress and strain of CFR-PEEK (PEEK reinforced by 30% carbon fiber) and pure PEEK (PEEK without any reprocessing) post were compared with those made in traditional materials using the three-dimensional finite element method. Results: From the stress point of view, compared with metal and fiber posts, CFR-PEEK and pure PEEK prefabricated post both demonstrated reduced post-core interface stress, post stress, post-root cement stress and root cement stress; moreover, CFR-PEEK and pure PEEK customized post demonstrated reduced post stress, post-root cement stress and root cement stress, while the strain of CFR-PEEK post was the closest to that of dentin. Conclusions: Compared with the traditional posts, both the CFR-PEEK and pure PEEK posts could reduce the risk of debonding and vertical root fracture, whether they were used as prefabricated posts or customized posts, but the biomechanical behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced CFR-PEEK restorations was the closest to dentin, no matter if they were used as prefabricated post or customized post. Therefore, the CFR-PEEK post could be more suitable to restore massive tooth defects. Pure PEEK needs filler reinforcement to be used for post-retained restoration.