Multivision determination of the volume of human body segments and implementation of a dynamic model

Many biomechanical models analyzing human movements require the morphologic al data of each body segment, such as partial mass inertial characteristics . These data may be evaluated from the three-dimensional (3-D) envelope of these segments. This study was aimed at developing a simple system compatib le with routine procedures with which these 3-D envelopes could be measured . Testing was carried out with an anthropomorphic manikin. Five CCD cameras were distributed around the subject. A region of interest (ROI) was define d as corresponding to a parallepiped volume including the subject. This vol ume was divided into N-3 elements; an element was considered to contain mat ter if the five corresponding pixels were white, and was declared empty oth erwise. When the spatial coordinates of the elements containing matter were known, the subject's volume could be reconstructed. To validate the method , calculated data were compared to a CT scan reconstruction of the manikin. The mean error in the total calculated volume of the manikin global envelo pe was +3.13%. The partial volumes of each segment were also compared. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PsycINFO classification: 22 60; 2330; 4140.