2011 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 117-126
Axillary crutches are often used to assist injured patients. However, patients are not usually familiar with how to use the crutches properly; improper usage can cause the patients to fall, potentially leading to further injury. Therefore, in order to prevent this, it is useful to measure the initial walking motion of the patients and to visualize the trajectory of their crutches, in three-dimensions. Based on the observations and analyses, an instructional guide on walking with crutches can be produced. This will ensure that patients can learn the safe way of using crutches before actually using them. Measuring motion in three-dimensional space generally requires external sensors, such as an optical motion capturing system. These consist of several cameras, and are complex and inconvenient apparatuses to use. Hence, the authors of this paper have proposed a new, improved apparatus. This apparatus uses internal sensors, including a gyro and two pressure sensors, all embedded in an axillary crutch. Based on these sensors' measurements, the motion of the crutch can be estimated. This proposal consequently addresses the advantages of this apparatus as following:1) this apparatus does not require a large amount of space for measurement and is easy to setup;2) experimental investigations confirmed that motion capturing of crutches can be monitored and displayed at an acceptable accuracy;3) experimental observations validate the benefit of instructional guides in the improvement of walking quality and safety with crutches.
