ACCURACY OF HUMAN LIMB MOMENT OF INERTIA ESTIMATIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON RESULTANT JOINT MOMENTS

Segmental moment of inertia values, which are often required to perfor m mechanical analyses of human movement, are commonly computed using s tatistical models based on cadaver data. Two sets of equations for est imating human limb moments of inertia were evaluated: Linear multivari able equations and nonlinear equations. Equation coefficients for both sets of equations were determined using the cadaver data of Chandler et al. (1975). A cross-validation procedure was used to circumvent the problem of model evaluation when there: is limited data with which to develop and evaluate the model. Moment of inertia values for the long itudinal axes were predicted with similar degrees of accuracy with eit her set of equations, while for the transverse axes the nonlinear equa tions were superior. An evaluation of the influence of the accuracy of moment of inertia estimates on resultant joint moments for three acti vities showed that the influence of these errors was generally small.