Prédiction des forces et moments de réaction sur la main courante lors de la propulsion en fauteuil roulant manuel en utilisant des capteurs inertiels

Abstract

Introduction : Manual wheelchair propulsion (FRM) is a very constraining task since the energy produced by the muscle chain of the glenohumeral structure requires to counterbalance the eccentric work of the elbow joint in order to be able to transmit it to the FRM handrail. Intrinsically, this function is associated with a prevalence of pain and shoulder injuries between 30 % and 100 % in the spinal cord injury population. There is a close link between the reaction forces applied to the handrim and the load imposed on the shoulder. Objective : The aim of this project is to estimate the components of the reaction force along the vertical and antero-posterior axis (Fx and Fy), as well as the propelling moment around the medio-lateral axis (Mz), on the handrim on both sides of the FRM using inertial sensors to obtain an ambulatory measurement of these variables. Material and Methods : 12 healthy subjects propelled an FRM along a 20-metre corridor at the École de Technologie Supérieure. The 3D kinematics of the upper limbs were measured by 17 inertial sensors (MVN Biomech; XSens, Inc.). The reaction forces and propulsive moment were measured by two SmartWheels dynamometric platforms (Three Rivers, Inc.). A new identification method by non-linear transfer function (Hammerstein-Wiener) has been developed to predict the parameters Fx, Fy and Mz, based on the inertial data standards of the wrist (linear acceleration and linear velocity) and the standardized mean pattern of the predicted variable. Validation is carried out using verification (816 cycles) and validation data. Results : The dependent variables are for each of the three parameters : MAE (mean Absolute Error) and MAPE (mean Absolute Error in Percent) at the maximum peak during the push phases, 1 N.m and 7.9 % for Mz; 6.2 N and 43.2 %; 13.6 N and 26.5 % for Fy. As well as the MAE and RMS (mean square error) errors on the entire curve during the push phase. The moment (RMS, and MAE during the push phase) on the push phase is 6.5 N, 5.1 N for Fx ; 11.6 N, 9.2 N for Fy; and 1.5 N.m, 1.2 N.m for Mz. Conclusion : the results of this study highlight the possibility of predicting the reaction forces on the handrim (Fx and Fy) and the propulsive moment (Mz). The prediction of the propulsive moment on an ambulatory basis has not been reported in the literature.

Date	18 Sept 2019
Original language	French
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	Rachid Aissaoui (Supervisor)