Validity and Reliability of the Leomo Motion-Tracking Device Based on Inertial Measurement Unit with an Optoelectronic Camera System for Cycling Pedaling Evaluation

José Manuel Plaza-Bravo, Manuel Mateo-March, Roberto Sanchis-Sanchis, Pedro Pérez-Soriano, Mikel Zabala and Alberto Encarnación-Martínez
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José Manuel Plaza-Bravo: Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Manuel Mateo-March: Sport Science Department, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, 03202 Elche, Spain
Roberto Sanchis-Sanchis: Research Group in Sports Biomechanics (GIBD), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Pedro Pérez-Soriano: Research Group in Sports Biomechanics (GIBD), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Mikel Zabala: Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
Alberto Encarnación-Martínez: Research Group in Sports Biomechanics (GIBD), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-13

Abstract: Background: The use of inertial measurement sensors (IMUs), in the search for a more ecological measure, is spreading among sports professionals with the aim of improving the sports performance of cyclists. The kinematic evaluation using the Leomo system (TYPE-R, Leomo, Boulder, CO, USA) has become popular. Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Leomo system by measuring the angular kinematics of the lower extremities in the sagittal plane during pedaling at different intensities compared to a gold-standard motion capture camera system (OptiTrack, Natural Point, Inc., Corvallis, OR, USA). Methods: Twenty-four elite cyclists recruited from national and international cycling teams performed two 6-min cycles of cycling on a cycle ergometer at two different intensities (first ventilatory threshold (VT1) and second ventilatory threshold (VT2)) in random order, with a 5 min rest between intensity conditions. The reliability and validity of the Leomo system versus the motion capture system were evaluated. Results: Both systems showed high validity and were consistently excellent in foot angular range Q1 (FAR (Q1)) and foot angular range (FAR) (ICC-VT1 between 0.91 and 0.95 and ICC-VT2 between 0.88 and 0.97), while the variables leg angular range (LAR) and pelvic angle showed a modest validity (ICC-VT1 from 0.52 to 0.71 and ICC-VT2 between 0.61 and 0.67). Compared with Optitrack, Leomo overestimated all the variables, especially the LAR and pelvic angle values, in a range between 12 and 15°. Conclusions: Leomo is a reliable and valid tool for analyzing the ranges of motion of the cyclist’s lower limbs in the sagittal plane, especially for the variables FAR (Q1) and FAR. However, its systematic error for FAR and Pelvic Angle values must be considered in sports performance analysis.

Keywords: motion analysis; cycling; kinematics; range of movement; IMU (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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