Radiographic Determination of Mass and Inertial Tensor of Anatomical Segments.
Abstract
The Naval Medical Research and Development Command desires to nondestructively measure the inertial properties of nonhuman primate bodies and limbs, with possible extension to humans. The results can be used in building accurate body dynamics models for crash and seat ejection studies. ANCO has investigated the use of multi-axis radiographs (X-ray photographs) of anatomical segments with high energy photons, which allows the determination of total mass, center of gravity, and the inertia tensor. This technique does not require any knowledge of the nature of the tissues studied (or their absorption coefficient) and does not require expensive CT-scan equipment. It was concluded that by using relatively inexpensive and simple equipment, the inertial properties could be determined with an accuracy of 5% to 10%, except for the off-diagonal terms of the inertia tensor where the errors could be larger. This larger error, however, is of limited concern in body dynamic studies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA169122