The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Quantification of human motion on roller coaster rides
Author:	Burman, Chirag
View Online:	njit-etd2013-001 (xi, 45 pages ~ 6.8 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Biomedical Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Biomedical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Pfister, Bryan J. (Committee chair) Bergen, Michael T. (Committee member) Hunter, William Corson (Committee member)
Date:	2013-01
Keywords:	Total body motions G-forces experience Heart rate Roller coaster rides
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	Case reports have been published of people experiencing symptoms of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or ailments of the vascular tissue around the head. These reports pointed towards G-forces, a scalar measure without a specified direction, which represent the measure of the acceleration of an object divided by acceleration caused by gravity (9.81 m/s2), as a cause of said injuries. Research has been conducted on quantifying the G-forces experienced while on roller coasters, as well as the change in heart rate. However these studies have not been able to show a link between roller-coasters and symptoms. This thesis aims to conceive of a system to capture total body motions and physiological properties, and to prove that the data can be successfully recorded. A system is built which would contain a series of sensor systems to sense and record various biomechanical and physiological parameters; with these data one can assess effects on the body. Along with this system, a BioHarness device is used on participants, which would record a number of physiological parameters. Testing is conducted on fourteen subjects on three rides, and the data are evaluated to see whether total body motions are successfully captured.