title: RehabGesture: An Alternative Tool for Measuring Human Movement.
abstract: Systems for range of motion (ROM) measurement such as OptoTrak, Motion Capture, Motion Analysis, Vicon, and Visual 3D are so expensive that they become impracticable in public health systems and even in private rehabilitation clinics. Telerehabilitation is a branch within telemedicine intended to offer ways to increase motor and/or cognitive stimuli, aimed at faster and more effective recovery of given disabilities, and to measure kinematic data such as the improvement in ROM.
  
  
  
  In the development of the RehabGesture tool, we used the gesture recognition sensor Kinect(®) (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) and the concepts of Natural User Interface and Open Natural Interaction.
  
  
  
  RehabGesture can measure and record the ROM during rehabilitation sessions while the user interacts with the virtual reality environment. The software allows the measurement of the ROM (in the coronal plane) from 0° extension to 145° flexion of the elbow joint, as well as from 0° adduction to 180° abduction of the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint, leaving the standing position. The proposed tool has application in the fields of training and physical evaluation of professional and amateur athletes in clubs and gyms and may have application in rehabilitation and physiotherapy clinics for patients with compromised motor abilities.
  
  
  
  RehabGesture represents a low-cost solution to measure the movement of the upper limbs, as well as to stimulate the process of teaching and learning in disciplines related to the study of human movement, such as kinesiology.
authors.affiliation: 1 Biotechnology Federal University of Sao Carlos , Sao Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Alexandre F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.affiliation: 2 Computer Science PhD Programs, Federal University of Sao Carlos , Sao Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Diego R C
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.affiliation: 3 Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics, State University of Campinas , Sao Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castellano
authors.affiliation: 4 Physiotherapy Federal University of Sao Carlos , Sao Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Nivaldo A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Parizotto
authors.affiliation: 5 Computer Science Departments, Federal University of Sao Carlos , Sao Paulo, Brazil .
authors.forename: Luis Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Trevelin
mesh_terms: D004551:Elbow Joint; D006801:Humans; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D058998:Remote Sensing Technology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012785:Shoulder Joint; D000069350:Telerehabilitation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: gestual interaction; gesture recognition; human movement; rehabilitation; telemedicine