User guide

Charnwood Dynamics Ltd. Coda cx1 User Guide – Coda Basics I - 2
CX1 USER GUIDE - COMPLETE.doc 26/04/04 44/162
It may be sensible to separate different research projects by storing the data files in
different directories on your hard disk. You can select which directory to use from the
directory box in the dialogue box. To find out about creating and managing directories,
see your Windows manuals.
To Open a saved data file
Choose the Open command from the File menu, select the directory in which the file is
stored, and either type or select from the list the name of the file.
Once you have acquired or loaded a data file, various tools are available to help you to
analyse it. You can look at different aspects of the data using different view windows.
Working with Views
Views are windows which appear inside the main Codamotion Analysis window. They
give you a visual display of the data you are looking at, whether it is text or graphs. Any
number and combination of views can be displayed. Two categories of view are available.
There are views which are associated with the current data file, and views which are
associated with the Charnwood Dynamics Codamotion system.
Real time views include: Stick Figure view, and Marker Positions view. The stick figure
view allows you to see in a very graphic way that all markers are correctly positioned on
the subject. The marker positions view gives you figures on the current positions of
markers in all three axes.
The first data file view is the stick figure view. This gives you an overview of marker
positions in two axes in a stick figure form. Several stick figure views can be displayed at
once. When you close the last stick figure view, the whole data file will be closed. For
precise figures on movement, you need to use graph views. Graph views can display
several plots of data, with precise figures underneath. Two additional views are available:
Comments view, which allows you to store comments about the data with the data file;
and variables view, which allows you to examine the values of defined variables.
All of the views in the Codamotion Analysis Window can be arranged by dragging the
windows around the screen, sizing the windows, and using the standard window menu
commands: tile, cascade, and arrange icons.
Preparing for Data Acquisition
Before you begin data acquisition you must set up the Coda machine. Ensure that the
Coda scanners (and any other peripherals such as a force plate amplifier) are switched on
before running the Codamotion Analysis program. If the scanner installation is reliably
firm the alignment of the co-ordinate frame for the acquisition volume may be as minimal
as defining the origin but, if the scanners are prone to physical disturbance between
sessions, it will be necessary to follow the alignment procedure detailed above: see
Alignment of CODA cx1 Scanners.
Markers must be attached to the subject (see below for standard gait analysis marker
placement protocols), and if EMG data is to be recorded the transmitter and electrodes
must also be attached.