title: The use of fiber Bragg grating sensors in biomechanics and rehabilitation applications: the state-of-the-art and ongoing research topics.
abstract: In recent years, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are becoming increasingly attractive for sensing applications in biomechanics and rehabilitation engineering due to their advantageous properties like small size, light weight, biocompatibility, chemical inertness, multiplexing capability and immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI). They also offer a high-performance alternative to conventional technologies, either for measuring a variety of physical parameters or for performing high-sensitivity biochemical analysis. FBG-based sensors demonstrated their feasibility for specific sensing applications in aeronautic, automotive, civil engineering structure monitoring and undersea oil exploration; however, their use in the field of biomechanics and rehabilitation applications is very recent and its practicality for full-scale implementation has not yet been fully established. They could be used for detecting strain in bones, pressure mapping in orthopaedic joints, stresses in intervertebral discs, chest wall deformation, pressure distribution in Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs), forces induced by tendons and ligaments, angles between body segments during gait, and many others in dental biomechanics. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of all the possible applications of FBG sensing technology in biomechanics and rehabilitation and the status of ongoing researches up-to-date all over the world, demonstrating the FBG advances over other existing technologies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Biomechanics, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. engr.fakih@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Ebrahim
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Al-Fakih
authors.forename: Noor Azuan
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Abu Osman
authors.forename: Faisal Rafiq
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Mahamd Adikan
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D055100:Optical Fibers; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000295:instrumentation*