Non-invasive determination of pennation angle and/or fascicle length

A non-invasive method of determining a pennation angle and returning advice to a user, comprising:

• processing a scan image to generate a processed image in order to simplify distinguishing a target muscle tissue in the processed image, wherein the processing of the scan image comprises:
• introducing noise:
• thresholding:
• removing a first element:
• joining second elements that are larger than the first element;
• and
• cropping the ultrasound scan image to focus on the target muscle tissue:
• distinguishing the target muscle tissue in the processed image;
• determining the pennation angle of the target muscle tissue by analyzing the processed image, thereby providing a determined pennation angle;
• determining whether the determined pennation angle is less than or greater than a desired pennation angle;
• and
• returning the advice to the user based on the pennation angle being less than or greater than the desired pennation angle,
• wherein the advice is related to increasing or decreasing the pennation angle to become more like the desired pennation angle.

A computer program product storing instructions executable to perform a method of determining a pennation angle and returning advice to a user, comprising:

• a first set of instructions, stored in at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by at least one processing unit to process an ultrasound image to generate a processed image in order to simplify distinguishing a target muscle tissue in the processed image, wherein the processing of the ultrasound image comprises:
• introducing noise:
• thresholding:
• removing a first element:
• joining second elements that are larger than the first element;
• and
• cropping the ultrasound scan image to focus on the target muscle tissue;
• a second set of instructions, stored in the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by the at least one processing unit to:
• distinguish the target muscle tissue in the processed image;
• a third set of instructions, stored in the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by the at least one processing unit to distinguish muscle fiber of the target muscle tissue from remaining structural elements;
• a fourth set of instructions, stored in the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by the at least one processing unit to determine the pennation angle of the target muscle tissue, thereby providing a determined pennation angle;
• a fifth set of instructions, stored in the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by the at least one processing unit to determine whether the determined pennation angle is less than or greater than a desired pennation angle;
• and
• a sixth set of instructions, stored in the at least one non-transitory computer readable medium, executable by the at least one processing unit to return the advice to the user based on the pennation angle being less than or greater than the desired pennation angle,
• wherein the advice is related to increasing or decreasing the pennation angle to become more like the desired pennation angle.