The intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of a method measuring the sagittal curvature of the spine using surface topography

A ToF-based system for recording human sagittal back shape

BACKGROUND

The sagittal back shape (SBS) of the human body, which should be highly consistent with the spinal morphology along the internal spine line, also presents an s-shaped curve.

OBJECTIVE

We propose a novel time-of-flight (ToF) based system to record the s-shaped SBS of the human body, which was simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive.

RESULTS

The system was composed of a bottom plate, an upright post, a vertical rod, dozens of horizontal measuring rods, and a ToF sensor. The experimental results showed that the system supported to obtain the s-shaped SBS of the human body with satisfactory accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

The ToF-based system for recording human sagittal back shape will be useful for routine screening of spinal physiological conditions in schools, as well as for e.g. digital garment design, and special seat-back design.