In this data set we are showing the three-dimensional (3D) movement of a transtibial amputee’s residual limb within their prosthetic socket. This data is important because an ill-fitting socket can cause excess limb-to-socket motion and ultimately cause skin breakdown issues. The top plot is the data stream versus time, while the bottom plot is plotting the y- and z-axis of the 3D data. Users can select what time bin they would like to display on the bottom plot, and we chose the y- and z- axis because they are the most clinically relevant axis information.
We chose the visualization we did because we wanted the user to be able to sequester and visualize different limb positions and motions over time. Trying to look at and interpret the entire data series in one 3D plot is overwhelming and the nuances of changes of movement over time. An alternative we considered was to make a drop-down menu in which various activities were listed in chronological order and the user could simply select which bodily position they wanted to investigate with respect to the time elapsed during the protocol. We chose to code a slide bar because users might want to see how certain bodily position changes cause the limb to move in the socket, possibly uncovering unique limb-to-socket motions when certain transitions occurred. If the data were binned a priori, users would not be able to explore this question and thus we found this plotting type to be more transparent.
The work on this project was divided equally, some members were experts in python coding, some knew the data well, and others had ideas on how to present the information effectively. All aspects were imperative for creating an effective visual. In fact, the data cleaning and coding seem rather trivial once we decided on what to present to our users. The data contained in this visual is confusing and it was challenging to portray in an easy-to-understand format. Most of our time was spent discussing what the data meant and what the most interesting question-answer topic we could present.