Integrating 3D Posture Neutralization with Statistical Shape Modeling for Head-Neck-Shoulder Ergonomic Design

The design of ergonomic products and workspaces requires a deep understanding of human anatomy and posture. In particular, the head-neck-shoulder region is critical for many applications such as cervical orthoses, helmets, and other head-worn or neck-worn devices. This paper presents a framework that integrates posture neutralization with statistical shape modeling (SSM) for the head-neck-shoulder (HNS) region. We acquire a single three-dimensional (3D) scan of the head-neck-shoulder region from each of 200 Chinese adults in a natural posture for each subject. Every scan is then posture-neutralized before SSM. We fit a parametric head-neck model to each scan to separate cervical pose from anatomy, and reset the cervical pose to a common neutral configuration, so that the resulting model captures anatomical shape variation rather than posture-induced deformation. The resulting shape space yields a standardized template and population-wide modes of variation, providing baselines for parametric ergonomic design. We further discuss how the model supports population coverage analysis and the design of products that accommodate anatomical diversity while maintaining neutral cervical posture.