Validation of Azure Kinect for Upper Limb Motion Analysis Under Optimal and Suboptimal Conditions

Assessment of upper-limb kinematics is essential in clinical practice for diagnosis, rehabilitation monitoring, and treatment personalization. Markerless Motion Capture (MMC) systems, such as the Microsoft Azure Kinect (AK), offer a low-cost and time-efficient alternative to marker-based systems. However, while AK accuracy has been extensively studied for lower-limb movements, its performance for upper-limb analysis—especially under clinically relevant, suboptimal conditions—remains underexplored. This study aims to validate AK for upper-limb motion tracking against a gold-standard optoelectronic system under optimal and suboptimal conditions. Sixteen healthy adults performed ten upper body motor tasks in three scenarios: optimal setup, seated posture with table occlusion, and increased camera distance. Joint angles were compared using normalized Root Mean Squared Error (nRMSE) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Performance Indicators (PIs) including Range of Motion (ROM), smoothness, and Time to Peak Velocity (TTPV) were also evaluated. AK accurately captured movements performed within the camera plane, with median nRMSE below 20% in optimal conditions and no significant degradation in suboptimal setups. In contrast, movements occurring on planes perpendicular to the camera were poorly captured. ROM estimation was acceptable and highly reproducible, while TTPV showed moderate-to-poor reliability and smoothness deviated substantially from the reference system. These findings suggest that careful attention to Kinect positioning is essential to ensure effective acquisitions, even in suboptimal scenarios. Future research should evaluate AK validity in clinical populations and explore the effects of system interference in multi-device setups.