Concurrent Validation of a Multi-Camera Markerless Motion Capture System Against Inertial Sensors for Upper- and Lower-Limb Joint Kinematics

Abstract

Markerless video-based motion capture is a fast-developing, low-burden and versatile alternative to marker-based stereophotogrammetry, yet independent validation evidence for several commercial solutions is still scarce. This study validates the markerless software CapturyStudio (The Captury GmbH, Saarbrücken, Germany) for the reconstruction of upper- and lower-limb joint kinematics, comparing it with a validated Xsens (Movella, Henderson, NV, USA) inertial measurement unit system. Ten healthy subjects (five females and five males) performed two standardized clinical tasks, a Reach-To-Grasp gesture for the upper limb and a Timed-Up and Go test for the lower limb, recorded simultaneously with eight BTS SMART EVO-DX 2 (BTS Bioengineering S.p.A., Garbagnate Milanese, Italy) cameras operating in markerless mode and a 17-sensor Xsens system. Elbow, shoulder, knee and hip flexion–extension angles were reconstructed from three-dimensional anatomical keypoints provided by CapturyStudio and compared with the Xsens angles through root mean square error in absolute and percentage terms, range-of-motion accuracy, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Spearman’s coefficient (ρ), Bland–Altman analysis and non-parametric Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests. CapturyStudio reproduced the temporal pattern of all four angles faithfully (ICC ≥ 0.87; ρ ≥ 0.89), with median discrepancies of about 12° for the elbow and below 8° for shoulder, knee and hip and with the best agreement for the upper limb; the main weakness was a systematic overestimation of hip range of motion. Since both systems are indirect measurement techniques, these values represent the discrepancy between two methods and an upper bound on the error of the markerless system rather than its absolute accuracy. Their magnitude is comparable to the changes regarded as clinically meaningful in goniometric assessment, so the system is presently suited to the analysis of movement patterns rather than to the measurement of absolute joint angles. The study is to be read as a technical comparison of two measurement systems, delimiting the conditions under which future clinical, rehabilitation and sports applications may be pursued.