Time-Frequency Analysis of Upper Limb Motion Based on Inertial Sensors

In recent years, inertial sensors have been broadly used in 3D human motion monitoring as an affordable solution. The time domain parameters e.g. kinematic parameters and kinetic parameters have already been widely studied. 3D orientation and position measurement are the most common used kinematic measurements for motion monitoring. This paper focuses on the frequency domain analysis and time-frequency analysis by using inertial sensing sensors. The inertial sensor was first validated for its ability in frequency detection by using a vibration generator. Then experimental tests were conducted on a healthy volunteer for a range of upper limb motion tests including Nine-hole peg test (NHPT) and drawing test. The results showed that additional information can be provided by using the time-frequency analysis, which can potentially provide insights on human upper limb movement.