Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
are then explained in Chapter 3, pointing out the
standardization proposed on an international scale to
present parameters of motion. Chapter 4 is then dedicated to
the delicate problem of measurement errors and their
management, and several clinical applications of motion
analysis are outlined in Chapter 5.
Following this brief presentation of the general outline of
this topic, we will briefly present the most significant
historical benchmarks in the understanding of human
movement before focusing on the different domains in which
motion analysis is currently found.
1.1. Historical benchmarks
In ancient Greece, the study of human movement was
very often intrinsically linked to that of animal movement.
The philosopher Aristotle (383-321 BC) also published one of
the first known texts on biomechanics, describing how
animals walk, as well as presenting detailed observations of
patterns of human motion when performing different tasks
[ARI 14].
Art was a strong driver for increasing the knowledge
about human motion. In particular, Leonardo da Vinci
(1452-1519) was convinced of the need, for an artist or a
painter, of having an in-depth knowledge of anatomy. He
emphasized that “the science of mechanics is so noble and
useful when compared with all other sciences that all living
organisms may have the possibility of moving according to
these laws”. Da Vinci, therefore, associated dissection and
mechanics, movement and function, to find the closest
possible link between anatomy and motion, which he
thought of essential in order to represent it pictorially
[LE 08] (see Figure 1.1(a)).
