Sviluppo ed utilizzo in ambito biomedico di un casco strumentato per il rilievo della cinematica della testa

The aim of the thesis is the development of a device to assess the kinematic of the head. The measurement of three-dimensional (3-D) kinematics of the head during different locomotor tasks represents a relevant research field in Biomechanics, because it allows the assessment of the dynamic inputs to the vestibula. Briefly, the vestibular system is a biological sensor capable of detecting the angular acceleration and the translational (a0-g) component where a0 is the linear acceleration of the origin of the global reference frame and g is the gravity vector. More specifically, is measured by vestibular canals, while (a0-g) component by otolith organs. The developed device consists in a cyclist helmet equipped with inertial sensors to measure the angular velocity, the linear and angular acceleration and the attitude of the head. The thesis is subdivided in three parts: 1. development of three different prototypes of the instrumented helmet; 2. realization and use of different systems to calibrate the devices; 3. preliminary use of the developed device in the study of dynamic posturography in health subject. The movement of the head can be used as an indicator of the individual's postural stability during perturbed movements of the body. Head stability, in fact, can provide useful information on the capability of the subject to maintain a stable platform for the visual and vestibular apparatus and for the organization of the segmental stabilization. Moreover, the developed device would be used in biomechanical researches based on the study of equilibrium control capability in health and pathological subjects