Spinal postural alignment measurements using markerless digital photography

Abstract

Background: A device that can measure posture alignment repeatedly is important for the prevention of hyperkyphosis. Objective: We devised a markerless measurement method for hyperkyphosis using digital photography and investigated the correlation with other noninvasive measurements and the validity and accuracy of this method. Methods: The study included 27 participants. The craniovertebral angle in supine (CVAS) and craniohorizontal angle in supine (CHAS) were calculated from digital photographs of the head and neck areas of the studied subjects with ImageJ. The correlations of CVAS and CHAS with the kyphosis index (KI) and block method (BM) were investigated. Intrarater correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman analyses were used to verify the reliability and accuracy of the measured results. Results: CHAS exhibited an excellent correlation with the KI and the BM. The intra- and interrater reliabilities of CHAS were almost perfect. Bland–Altman analysis revealed that CHAS was associated with minor addition errors. Conclusion: CHAS founded an excellent correlation and reliability with the conventional spinal postural alignment measurements. The addition error suggested that the manual was needed to confirm the landmark. The CHAS is a method used to measure the spinal postural alignment in a supine position without markers and without exposing the skin surface.

A Comparative Study on the Effects of Three Types of Pillows on Head-neck Pressure Distribution and Cervical Spine Alignment

“…It is used as an estimated value of the relative head position on the upper cervical spine [21]. The CVA and CHA while lying on a pillow were measured according to the method used by Hida et al [22] in their research; these values were named as the cranio-vertebral angle in supine (CVAs) and cranio-horizontal angle in supine (CHAs) in this study, respectively. The CSD measured using a tape measure, represents the degree of neck flexion [23].…”

Holistic Approach for Markerless Head-Neck Posture Assessment

“…This means that the body points used to define the line that forms the angle are not necessarily the same. Most of the time the HTA is defined as the angle between the line through the tragus and canthus and the horizontal line through the tragus [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] (Figure 1(a)). But Mingels et al [24], for example, define HTA as the angle between the line through the tragus and canthus and the vertical line through the tragus (Figure 1(b)), Ormos et al [12] as the angle between the line of the tragus and the base of the nose and the horizontal line through the tragus (Figure 1(c)), and while Salahzadeh et al [25] define it as the angle between the line through the tragus and manubrium and the line through the tragus and chin(Figure1(d)).…”

Coronal Spinal Postural Alignment Screening Tool using Markerless Digital Photography

“…This method has the potential to become a tool that allows older people to measure their postural alignment at home in the future. Posture alignment screening tool using markerless digital photography was devised for the measurement of hyperkyphosis and reportedly has excellent reliability [17]. However, it has not yet been applied to the measurement of ADS.…”