title: Quantitative analysis of upper limbs during gait: a marker set protocol.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to develop a marker set for simultaneously assessing upper and lower limb biomechanics during gait.
  
  
  METHODS
  24 healthy young subjects (mean age: 23.80 years) were assessed quantitatively using an optoelectronic system, two force platform and a video system. Passive markers were positioned according to the proposed marker set which enables acquiring the upper and lower limb movement simultaneously during Gait Analysis. In addition to the traditional parameters obtained from Gait Analysis, the shoulder and elbow angles were computed from markers coordinates of upper limbs; then, some significant parameters were identified and calculated. From shoulder and elbow position, angles, angular velocities, angular acceleration, moments, and powers were calculated for shoulder and elbow joints.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Kinematic and kinetic data were obtained in the three planes (sagittal, frontal, and transversal) for the shoulder and in the sagittal plane for the elbow. Normative ranges were obtained for these parameters from data of healthy participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The proposed experimental set-up enables simultaneous assessment of upper and lower limb movement during gait. Thus, no further trials are required in addition to those acquired during standard gait analysis in order to assess upper limb motion, which also makes the experimental set-up feasible for clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. veronica.cimolin@polimi.it
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cimolin
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crivellini
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Romkes
authors.forename: Reinald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brunner
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000886:Anthropometry; D057005:Bioengineering; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D057918:Fiducial Markers; D005684:Gait / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010827:Physiology; D055815:Young Adult