Sensing device

A system for measuring movement of a moving segment of a body relative to a reference segment of the body, the system comprising:

• a sensing device including:
• a covering including a first covering portion and a second covering portion, wherein the first covering portion is configured to be positioned in contact with the moving segment of the body, and the second covering portion is configured to be positioned in contact with the reference segment of the body;
• a sensor operatively attached to the second covering portion;
• a triggering mechanism operatively attached at a first end to the first covering portion, and operatively connected at a second end to the sensor;
• wherein the triggering mechanism extends from the moving segment to the reference segment and across a joint center therebetween when the covering is positioned in contact with the body;
• and
• wherein the sensing device is configured such that when the moving segment of the body is moved, the triggering mechanism actuates the sensor to generate a signal, the signal corresponding to the movement of the moving segment;
• a processor configured to receive the signal from the sensor and to generate a measurement of the movement corresponding to the signal;
• and
• a storage device configured to receive and store at least one of the signal generated by the sensing device and the measurement generated by the processor.

A method for measuring movement of a moving segment of a body, the method comprising:

• positioning a sensing device in contact with a body, wherein:
• the sensing device is configured to include a sensor, a triggering device, and a covering including a first covering portion and a second covering portion;
• the sensor is operatively attached to the second covering portion;
• and
• the triggering mechanism is operatively attached at a first end to the first covering portion, and operatively connected at a second end to the sensor;
• wherein positioning the sensing device in contact with the body includes positioning the first covering portion in contact with the moving segment of the body, and positioning the second covering portion in contact with a reference segment of the body such that the triggering mechanism extends from the moving segment to the reference segment and across a joint center located between the moving segment and the reference segment;
• moving the moving segment of the body relative to the reference segment and the joint center to activate the triggering mechanism to provide a force input to the sensor to actuate the sensor, wherein the force input corresponds to the movement of the moving segment;
• actuating the sensor to generate a signal corresponding to the force input;
• providing the signal to a processor in communication with the sensor;
• and
• processing the signal using the processor to derive a measurement of the movement.