Challenges and recommendations for quantifying shoulder motion using wearable inertial sensors

Quantifying shoulder motion using body-worn inertial measurement units (IMUs) is not straight forward and requires addressing numerous challenges. We describe these challenges and use a sample data set to illustrate effects of protocol and algorithm choices on calculated shoulder angles. Finally, we make recommendations for how to use IMU data responsibly to conduct studies that require measurements of shoulder motion in real-world, non-laboratory environments.