A machine leaning based IoT framework to support musculoskeletal rehabilitation
Project Summary According to World Health Organization(WHO), "The source of the most consistent global, regional and national epidemiological evidence for all diseases and injuries in the current period ? shows that 74% of the total number of YLDs in the wo
2025-06-28 16:30:05 - Adil Khan
A machine leaning based IoT framework to support musculoskeletal rehabilitation
Project Area of Specialization Wearables and ImplantableProject SummaryProject Summary
According to World Health Organization(WHO), "The source of the most consistent global, regional and national epidemiological evidence for all diseases and injuries in the current period – shows that 74% of the total number of YLDs in the world is linked to health conditions for which rehabilitation is beneficial. These conditions include non-acute conditions associated with significant disability such as noncommunicable diseases, musculoskeletal conditions"[1]. In addition to that, "The need for rehabilitation continues to grow worldwide, especially in low- and underdeveloped countries. The demand for rehabilitation services already exceeds availability,leaving a large unmet need"[2].
As we all know that physiotherapy patients are increasing day by day and the doctors suggest these patients to have appointment every now and then/on regular basis.So they can analyze their body movements and see that whether their joints are in healthy condition or not.We will basically design an IoT based framework which will analyze the data variation by MPU9250 on the basis of the readings received by gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer when patient moves his/her arm or any affected limb. The data will be then compared with the data received when therapist performed the exercise to see whether the patient has performed it accurately or not. In other words it will monitor Rehabilitaion process of patient in their own house without going to doctor by themselves.
The components which we are using in our project are:
IMU(MPU9250) Sensor:
Arduino Nano:
Real Time clock:
SD card module:
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And then he/she will move his/her body,so that MPU9250 can capture variations in the values of Gyroscope,Accelerometer and magnetometer with the variation of body movements.
aim of rehabilitation is to optimize functioning, and future populations will experience
more and more limitations in functioning and live longer
There is a need for global action by professional organizations, development agencies and civil society to work towards developing and maintaining a sustainable workforce for rehabilitation.


REFERENCES:
[1]: Bellefleur Physiotherapy <https://www.bellefleurphysio.com/conditions/>
Date Accessed: 7/2/20
[2]: Chartered Society Of Physiotherapy
<https://www.csp.org.uk/conditions>
Date Accessed: 7/2/20
Project Objectives OBJECTIVES:- To undertake a survey of requirements for rehabilitation engineering from trained and practicing physiotherapists.
- To develop a motion tracking prototype which can be used to capture human body movement.
- To investigate the efficacy of time-series classification methods for predicting “proper” and “improper” exercised based on human body movement data collected from our prototype.
- The first step is to undertake a survey of requirements for rehabilitation engineering from trained and practicing physiotherapists.
- The second step is to understand the configuration, calibration, and working of MPU-9250 motion tracking device.
- The third step is to develop a motion tracking prototype which can be used to capture human body movement. We intend to build multiple wrist-band type modules which will be worn by patients on different limbs of human body for data acquistion. Each patient will wear five such modules, that is, two on legs, two on arms, and one on abdomen.
- The fourth step is to design data acquisition plan for human body movement data during physiotherapy exercises, in collaboration trained and practicing physiotherapists.
- The final step is to investigate the efficacy of time-series classification methods for predicting “proper” and “improper” exercised based on human body movement data collected from our prototype.
The expected benefits of our project are summarized as follows:
- Our project addresses a serious healthcare issue, that is osteoporosis, which affects a large section of Pakistani population. The medical solution to alleviate effects of osteoporosis is exercise, and we will build a smart module which can tell whether the exercise is being performed as per the physiotherapists’ recommendation or not.
- We envisage that our module can also be used for rehabilitation of sports related injuries since those are also treated through planned exercises.
- Finally, we are building a Pakistan developed solution rather than a foreign import, which can help our country save vital foreign exchange. We plan to continue working on this module and develop towards a startup.
Technical Deliverable of project:
- MPU9250 is 9-axis motion sensor which is the heart of this project. It has three integrated sensors that are Accelerometer, Gyroscope and Magnetometer. These all parameter can give real time motion data.It is a I2C interface module operating at 2V-5.5v power.
- SD Card Module is SPI interfaced sensor operting at 3.3V to 5V depending upon the module version.It is used to store data that is gained by sensors connected to microcontroller. Micro SD Card is to be inserted into the module along with SD Card Jacket so that data can be saved into it.
- Real Time Clock is I2C interface module using SDA and SCL pins for communication. The usage of this sensor is to collect the specific time at which a particular exercise is performed whose data can be further machine learned for a motion graph,
- Arduino Nano is one of the small microcontroller in Arduino family. The core of this microcontroller is Atmega328p chip operating at 7V-12V with clock speed of 16Mhz and having 8 Analog and 22 digital I/O pins.
- Prototype: 8 prototypes will be made for different parts of limbs of the human body. Prototype would be made from acrylic plastic with PCB of the project merged into it. The prototype would be wearable with velcro based straps specific for different body parts which would also be practical for therapy exercises.

Flow Chart:

| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 52160 | |||
| Ardunio Nano | Equipment | 16 | 500 | 8000 |
| MPU-9250 | Equipment | 16 | 1000 | 16000 |
| Real Time Clock | Equipment | 16 | 350 | 5600 |
| Rechargeable Battries | Equipment | 16 | 400 | 6400 |
| Soldering Mechine | Miscellaneous | 2 | 1000 | 2000 |
| Volt Regulator | Equipment | 16 | 160 | 2560 |
| Pcb Board | Equipment | 16 | 100 | 1600 |
| Arcylic model | Miscellaneous | 16 | 500 | 8000 |
| Soldering 50mg wire | Equipment | 4 | 100 | 400 |
| Jumper Wires | Equipment | 16 | 100 | 1600 |