Objective classification of scapular kinematics in participants with movement faults of the scapula on clinical assessment.

The aim of this study was to assess the potential of employing a classification tool to objectively classify participants with clinically assessed movement faults (MFs) of the scapula. Six participants with a history of shoulder pain with MFs of the scapula and 12 healthy participants with no movement faults (NMFs) performed a flexion movement control test of the scapula, while scapular kinematic data were collected. Principal component scores and discrete kinematic variables were used as input into a classifier. Five out of the six participants with a history of pain were successfully classified as having scapular MFs with an accuracy of 72%. Variables related to the upward rotation of the scapula had the most influence on the classification. The results of the study demonstrate the potential of adopting a multivariate approach in objective classification of participants with altered scapular kinematics in pathological groups.

An application of the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence to the classification of knee function and detection of improvement due to total knee replacement surgery.

This paper utilises a novel method for the classification of subjects with osteoarthritic and normal knee function. The classification method comprises a number of different components. Firstly, the method exploits the Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence allowing for a degree of ignorance in the subject's classification, i.e., a level of uncertainty as to whether a gait variable indicates osteoarthritis or not. Secondly, the inclusion of simplex plots allows both the classification of a subject, and the contribution of each associated gait variable to that classification, to be represented visually. As a result, the method is further able to highlight periodic changes in a subject's knee function due to total knee replacement surgery and subsequent recovery. The visual representation enables a simple clinical interpretation of the results from the quantitative analysis.