System for simulating thoracic cage and lumbar spine region

A lumbar spine mechanism for a mannequin comprising:

• at least four joint units serially connected to provide joints for at least three rotational degrees of freedom (DOF), with a rotational axis of a first DOF configured to be aligned with a lateral axis of the mannequin, a rotational axis of a second DOF configured to be aligned with an anterior-posterior axis of the mannequin, a rotational axis of a third DOF configured to be aligned with a cranial-caudal axis of the mannequin, and a rotational axis of a fourth DOF is configured to be aligned with the lateral axis of the mannequin,
• sensors to measure movements at each of the at least three joint units to detect lumbar spine orientation changes, and
• wherein a bottom one of the at least three joint units is adapted to be connected to a pelvis of the mannequin, and a top one of the at least three joint units is adapted to be connected to a torso section of the mannequin.