An Evaluation of a Fiber Optic Based Sensor for Measuring Chest and Abdominal Deflection

The objective of this study was to investigate the use of a fiber optic based sensor, ShapeTape, as an instrument for measuring abdominal and chest deflection, and to compare it to the current instrument used in impact biomechanics applications, the chestband. Drift, pressure, and temperature tests were conducted for ShapeTape alone, whereas quasi-static and dynamic loading tests were conducted as comparison tests between the chestband and ShapeTape. The effects of drift and temperature on ShapeTape were very small, averaging 0.26% and 1.2% full scale changes respectively. During the pressure test at a load of 1000 N the ShapeTape sensor tested experience a 7.47% full scale voltage change. The average errors in reporting maximum deflection of the chest form during the quasi-static loading tests were 3.35% and 1.64% for ShapeTape and the chestband respectively. For the dynamic loading tests, the average error in reporting maximum deflection was 8.60% for the ShapeTape and 10.01% for the chestband. The contour output for the ShapeTape and chestband were both very similar to the video analysis. The data from these tests indicate that ShapeTape provides the same degree of accuracy as the chestband.