3-DIMENSIONAL GONIOMETER LINKAGE SYSTEM F OR THE ANALYSIS OF MOVEMENTS WITH 6 DEGREES OF FREEDOM

A measuring system for the determination of the six degrees of freedom of three-dimensional movements is described. The main advantages of t his goniometer linkage system are ease of handling and good cost-quali ty relationship. For small movements it has an accuracy of about 0.1 m m and 0.1-degrees. Six potentiometers are rod-linked in such a way tha t the system can follow any movement, unconstrained. From the rotation of the potentiometers, the spatial movement of two solid bodies can b e calculated by a computer. The reliability of the system has been dem onstrated in several in vitro and in vivo applications.