Estimation of physical performance for elderly people via markerless sit to stand analysis

We propose a novel system for automatically assessing physical performance in elderly people. We concentrated on the kinematic analysis of the Sit-to-Stand (STS) task since it is widely recognised that the inability to rise from a seated position is associated with physical impairment and risk of falling. The approach implements a markerless kinematic analysis by applying a method working on the Gauss-Laguerre transformed domain. Limbs’ pose is analysed and compared with a normality trend, obtained from young subjects. A parameter representing the strategy used for raising from the chair, and correlated to the physical assessment, is extracted. Experimental tests on a population of elderly people are conducted and results are compared with scores from the Short Physical Performance Battery and the Tinetti’s Test