Side-approach Transfer Measurement for Patient with Spinal Cord Injuries

The purpose of this study is to clarify the side-approach transfer ability of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. We have evaluated SCI patient's skill and muscle strength when performing the transfer motion by imaging the movements involved in each patient's transfer motion and measuring the floor reaction forces. It is understand that patients can not use their stomach muscle strength and both legs. The usage of both hands is important for SCI patient in transfer motion. In this study, we propose the force direction of left hand in each three period (trunk up period T1, buttock up period T2, and buttock down period T3) in order to analyze the transfer motion. SCI patients can raise their hip high and perform transfer easily by inclining their body greatly. So we estimate the inclination degree of the trunk using side-view image during transfer motion. Using the force direction of left hand and the inclination degree of the body, medical staffs can evaluate the skills of the side-approach transfer motion for each patient.