Measuring units [%BW, %BW*m or Nm]

Measuring Units

Forces from the spine have the measuring unit N, moments have the unit Nm. Data from all other implants are given in %BW (percent of body weight) for the forces and %BW*m for the moments. This is done because the results are then more uniform between the subjects. If you replace %BW by one percent of the patient’s body weight, you will then obtain the forces or moments in N or Nm.

Example: If a patient has a body weight of 850 N (86.4kg) you have to multiply the forces or moments, given in %BW or %BW*m, with the factor 8.5 to obtain them in N or Nm. The body weight and multiplication factor of each individual subject is stated in the window ‘Info Patient’ of the OrthoLoad videos, for example 8.5*{%BW, %BWm} –> {N, Nm}.