Evaluation of muscle length asymmetry using OpenSim SW and bilateral cyclograms

Nowadays, modern software systems and MoCap systems allow to monitor, in real-time and remotely, the muscle-tendon behavior. The aim of this article is to introduce a possible method of quantification of muscle length asymmetry which can be used for rehabilitation, and also for evaluating the functionality of the artificial muscles, i.e. actuators of prosthesis. A group of healthy children and children with cerebral palsy was measured using a Vicon motion analysis system. The 3D kinematic data were recorded and the OpenSim software system was used to identify the muscle length. The synchronized bilateral cyclograms were created to quantify muscle length asymmetry of the left and right sides of body. In order to quantify the muscle length asymmetry, we have described and tested method based on the shape of cyclograms. The new technique has never been applied before to study the gait asymmetry and can be used as an additional method for the determination of gait symmetry.