Validation of an Infrared Camera System with a Joint Analysis Software as a Real Time Strength Training and Evaluation Tool

OBJECTIVES Athletic performance and injury prevention are important for athletes and coaches. Different types of movement analyses have been created to aid in injury prevention and performance. The reliability of the Microsoft Kinect™ for movement analysis has not been widely tested. If reliable and accurate it could decrease the cost and time necessary for movement analysis. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Microsoft Kinect™ is an accurate measure of knee displacement during the parallel squat when com-pared to the Dartfish Team Pro Software 6.0. METHODS Twenty nine healthy recreational athletes participated in the study and used the Dartfish Team Pro Software 6.0 to validate the Microsoft Kinect™ as a tool to measure knee displacement. Subjects per-formed a parallel squat with a 2.1m long dowel rod. This exercise was used to compare value between sys-tems. The intraclass correlation coefficient and paired-samples t-test were used to compare Dartfish Team Pro Software 6.0 and Microsoft Kinect™. Intrarater reliability of each system was also assessed. RESULTS There were 29 participants in the study. The interclass correlation coefficient for Dartfish Team Pro Software 6.0 and Microsoft Kinect™ showed that the Microsoft Kinect™ had a high-reliability ICC = 0.96. Intrarater reliability for Kinect™ and Dartfish were .98 and .99, respectively. The mean difference between systems for measured knee displacement was 1.06 cm. The mean for the Microsoft Kinect™ was 49.11 ± 1.9 and 50.16 ± 96 for the Dartfish (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The Microsoft Kinect™ is reliable against the Dartfish Team Pro Software 6.0 as a tool to measure knee displacement using the parallel squat. It appears for healthy young adults, the Microsoft Kinect™ is reliable for movement analysis.