In-chair Movements of Healthy People during Prolonged Sitting

Abstract

This paper describes a program designed to detect and give a classification of the in-chair movements done by healthy people while seated for long periods of time. The purpose of this work is to identify the frequency, duration and typology of movements performed by subjects that need to remain seated for a prolonged time. The software finds the time instants of each movement, its duration and whether it is in the sagittal or the lateral plane; in particular it distinguishes between a left and right movement (in the lateral plane) and a forward or backward trunk movement. This information can be useful in many different domains: first of all to monitor the fidgeting phenomenon and consequently the feeling of discomfort in the office environment; it can be adopted to evaluate the fatigue of car and truck drivers; but the most important outcome concerns the clinical setting, in which it can be very helpful for the medical staff in determining an appropriate and personalized rehabilitation strategy for patients with motor limitations in order to prevent the development of pressure ulcers.