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Calibration-Free Intelligent Wearables for Enhanced Knee Rehabilitation Management
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Department of Computer Science and Engineering MPhil Thesis Defence Title: "Calibration-Free Intelligent Wearables for Enhanced Knee Rehabilitation Management" By Mr. Jiaxi ZHANG Abstract: Knee diseases are prevalent in populations, including acute injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament tears and degenerative conditions like knee osteoarthritis. Effective rehabilitation is essential for functional recovery. However, challenges such as limited clinical resources and a lack of practical objective assessment methods hinder treatment efforts. Wearable sensing technologies present promising solutions for continuous monitoring, yet their clinical application is often complicated by calibration requirements. This thesis addresses the issue of calibration dependency by developing two calibration-free wearable systems. The first system, RTSense, enables quantitative return-to-sport assessment after ACL reconstruction by capturing knee flexion angles during dynamic movements. The second system, KneeGuard, facilitates personalized gait re-training for knee osteoarthritis by simultaneously estimating the knee adduction moment and muscle forces during walking. Both systems employ innovative computational approaches to overcome calibration dependencies, demonstrating their feasibility for real-world applications. Date: Monday, 4 August 2025 Time: 10:00am - 12:00noon Venue: Room 3494 Lifts 25/26 Chairman: Prof. Song GUO Committee Members: Prof. Qian ZHANG (Supervisor) Dr. Xiaojuan MA