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Home / Equine Research Bank / Sensors (Basel) / A Method for Quantifying Back Flexion/Extension from Three I...
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)2023; 23(24); doi: 10.3390/s23249625

A Method for Quantifying Back Flexion/Extension from Three Inertial Measurement Units Mounted on a Horse’s Withers, Thoracolumbar Region, and Pelvis.

Abstract: Back mobility is a criterion of well-being in a horse. Veterinarians visually assess the mobility of a horse's back during a locomotor examination. Quantifying it with on-board technology could be a major breakthrough to help them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of a method of quantifying the back mobility of horses from inertial measurement units (IMUs) compared to motion capture (MOCAP) as a gold standard. Reflective markers and IMUs were positioned on the withers, eighteenth thoracic vertebra, and pelvis of four sound horses. The horses performed a walk and trot in straight lines and performed a gallop in circles on a soft surface. The developed method, based on the three IMUs, consists of calculating the flexion/extension angle of the thoracolumbar region. The IMU method showed a mean bias of 0.8° (±1.5°) (mean (±SD)) and 0.8° (±1.4°), respectively, for the flexion and extension movements, all gaits combined, compared to the MOCAP method. The results of this study suggest that the developed method has a similar accuracy to that of MOCAP, opening up possibilities for easy measurements under field conditions. Future studies will need to examine the correlations between these biomechanical measures and clinicians' visual assessment of back mobility defects.
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Publication Date: 2023-12-05 PubMed ID: 38139471PubMed Central: PMC10747348DOI: 10.3390/s23249625Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article focuses on an evaluation of a method that quantifies the mobility of a horse’s back using three inertial measurement units (IMUs). The outcome proves that this method is as accurate as the established standard of motion capture (MOCAP).

Understanding the Basics

  • The article largely centers on exploring a new technological solution to monitor a horse’s back mobility, a vital criteria determining the horse’s well-being.
  • Presently, veterinarians assess a horse’s back mobility visually during a locomotor examination. The attempt here is to quantify this process using on-board technology.
  • The horse’s back mobility refers to the movements associated with the withers, thoracolumbar region, and pelvis of the horse.
  • The research aims to compare the proposed method using IMUs to MOCAP, which is considered the gold standard in this context.

The Method and the Study

  • Reflective markers and IMUs are positioned on the withers, the eighteenth thoracic vertebra, and pelvis of four horses for the study.
  • The horses are put through the exercise of walking and trotting in straight lines and performing a gallop in circles on a soft surface.
  • The developed method centralizes on the data derived from all three IMUs. It specifically calculates the flexion/extension angle of the thoracolumbar region.

Test Results and Conclusion

  • The analysis of the results shows an average deviation of plus or minus 1.5° for the flexion movements and plus or minus 1.4° for extension movements across all gaits compared to the MOCAP method.
  • The conclusion drawn from this evaluation is that the IMU method does match the accuracy of the MOCAP.
  • This new method opens up the possibility of easier measurements under field conditions.
  • However, further studies are still needed to examine the correlations between these biomechanical measurements and the visual assessment made by clinicians for back mobility defects.

Cite This Article

APA
Hatrisse C, Macaire C, Hebert C, Hanne-Poujade S, De Azevedo E, Audigié F, Ben Mansour K, Marin F, Martin P, Mezghani N, Chateau H, Chèze L. (2023). A Method for Quantifying Back Flexion/Extension from Three Inertial Measurement Units Mounted on a Horse’s Withers, Thoracolumbar Region, and Pelvis. Sensors (Basel), 23(24). https://doi.org/10.3390/s23249625

Publication

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
ISSN: 1424-8220
NlmUniqueID: 101204366
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 23
Issue: 24

Researcher Affiliations

Hatrisse, Chloé
  • Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Mécanique des Chocs (LBMC) UMR_T 9406, Université Gustave Eiffel, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69622 Lyon, France.
  • CIRALE, USC 957 BPLC, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
  • Laboratoire d'Innovation Ouverte en Technologies de la Santé (LIO), Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montréal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
Macaire, Claire
  • CIRALE, USC 957 BPLC, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
  • Laboratoire de BioMécanique et BioIngénierie (UMR CNRS 7338), Centre of Excellence for Human and Animal Movement Biomechanics (CoEMoB), Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC), Alliance Sorbonne Université, 60200 Compiègne, France.
  • Labcom LIM-ENVA, LIM France, 24300 Nontron, France.
Hebert, Camille
  • Labcom LIM-ENVA, LIM France, 24300 Nontron, France.
Hanne-Poujade, Sandrine
  • Labcom LIM-ENVA, LIM France, 24300 Nontron, France.
De Azevedo, Emeline
  • CIRALE, USC 957 BPLC, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
Audigié, Fabrice
  • CIRALE, USC 957 BPLC, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
Ben Mansour, Khalil
  • Laboratoire de BioMécanique et BioIngénierie (UMR CNRS 7338), Centre of Excellence for Human and Animal Movement Biomechanics (CoEMoB), Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC), Alliance Sorbonne Université, 60200 Compiègne, France.
Marin, Frederic
  • Laboratoire de BioMécanique et BioIngénierie (UMR CNRS 7338), Centre of Excellence for Human and Animal Movement Biomechanics (CoEMoB), Université de Technologie de Compiègne (UTC), Alliance Sorbonne Université, 60200 Compiègne, France.
Martin, Pauline
  • Labcom LIM-ENVA, LIM France, 24300 Nontron, France.
Mezghani, Neila
  • Laboratoire d'Innovation Ouverte en Technologies de la Santé (LIO), Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), Montréal, QC H2X 0A9, Canada.
Chateau, Henry
  • CIRALE, USC 957 BPLC, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
Chèze, Laurence
  • Laboratoire de Biomécanique et Mécanique des Chocs (LBMC) UMR_T 9406, Université Gustave Eiffel, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69622 Lyon, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Horses
  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Back
  • Gait
  • Pelvis

Grant Funding

  • contrat n°ANR-20-CE19-0016 / Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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