Posture scanning, what the camera measures and what a posture number cannot tell you

Source Chiropractic uses a Moti Physio three-dimensional posture scanner, a depth camera with analysis software, to record how a patient stands. This guide explains what the scan measures, what its own manufacturer says it is and is not, how its numbers compared with X-ray measurements in the one published validation study, how it is kept apart from the examination at our Clarksville practice, and what a posture measurement can and cannot tell anyone about pain.

What is a posture scan?

You stand on a mat in front of a small camera for about a minute. The camera is an infrared depth sensor, the same kind of technology found in some phones and games consoles, and it records the shape of your body's surface rather than an image of your bones. Software then estimates where your joints are, draws a figure over the recording, and reports angles: how far forward the head sits relative to the shoulders, the tilt of the pelvis, the side-on curves of the spine, and left-to-right differences. The US distributor describes the output as joint angles, movement range and symmetry, and comparisons between sessions (Calivus Labs, FAQ).

There is no radiation. Nothing touches you. The result is a set of numbers and a rendered figure, which can be printed or emailed.

What does the manufacturer say it is?

This matters more than anything the scan shows you. The software's licence agreement states that it is "non-medical software intended solely for general wellness and health-promotion purposes", that it "is not a medical device and is not intended for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of any disease or medical condition", and the manufacturer's support pages add that medical use is prohibited (MGsolutions end user licence agreement, version 2.1, read 16 September 2026).

We repeat that here because it is the correct reading and because the manufacturer's marketing reads differently. The same company describes the device as "X-ray-like", and the distributor sells it to clinics as a way to make patients "commit to care plans" and "stick with you longer". None of that is a description of what the scan does for a patient. At Source Chiropractic the scan is a measurement. It does not diagnose anything, and no plan of care is built on it.

How accurate is it?

The manufacturer points to a hospital study comparing its software with full-body X-rays. The study exists, and it is worth reading closely. In 2020, seventy rehabilitation patients at a Korean university hospital were measured on the same day by EOS radiography and by this software (version 2.11) with a depth camera (see the research below). Three measurements, forward head position, the tilt of the first thoracic vertebra and the tilt of the pelvis, correlated moderately with the X-ray values. Knee flexion and the low back curve correlated fairly. On four of the seven measurements, the two methods disagreed by a statistically significant margin. The authors call the validation acceptable and say the accuracy needs to improve; they also note that clothing distorts the surface the camera reads, that the test position was not the one the software normally uses, and that the software has been updated since.

That is what "compared with X-ray" means in practice: the scan tracks the general direction of a radiographic measurement, with a margin that is wide enough that a single number, or a few degrees of change between two scans, should not be read as fact. A change between visits may be the software's estimate moving, your clothes, or how you happened to stand that day.

What do the pictures mean?

The software colours muscles red for "tightness" and blue for "weakness", and can show an "ideal", "current" and "worsened" version of your figure side by side. These are renderings, not findings. The colours are the software's classification from the surface shape, not a measurement of any muscle. The "ideal" is the software's reference model. The "worsened" figure is a rendering of what the software's model would look like with the angles pushed further; it is not a prediction about you, and no one at this practice will present it as one.

What does posture tell us about pain?

Less than the pictures suggest, and this is the part of the page to read if you read nothing else.

• Back pain. A 2020 review of 41 systematic reviews found both positive and null associations between spinal posture and low back pain, found that reviews limited to studies which followed people over time were less able to reach consistent conclusions, and found no evidence that posture precedes a first episode of low back pain (see the research below). An earlier review of 54 studies found no strong evidence linking the side-on curves of the spine to any health outcome, including spinal pain.
• Neck pain. Adults with neck pain do, on average, hold the head further forward than adults without it, and the posture correlates with pain and disability scores. The difference is about three degrees, of the same order as the differences between age groups and between men and women in the same data (about 2.4 and 2.6 degrees), and every study behind it is a snapshot, so it cannot say whether the posture came before the pain or is a consequence of it. In adolescents, no such difference was found.

So a posture measurement is a description of how you were standing, at that moment, in those clothes. It cannot show that your posture caused your pain, and correcting a number is not a treatment goal. Our posture article makes the same point from the other direction: most posture questions are really questions about a task, and the task is where the useful changes are.

Where does it fit at Source Chiropractic?

A scan is a posture record: a picture of how you stand that you can see, keep and compare with a later one. It is separate from the examination. The manufacturer's licence limits the software to general wellness use and prohibits medical use, so a scan is not used here to diagnose anything, and a diagnosis and a plan come from the examination, by hand and by watching you move, not from the scan. Whether a scan is taken at your visit, whether it is repeated, and whether it carries a separate charge are questions to ask when you book; the new-patient offer has its own terms, and this page does not describe the scan as part of them.

A repeat scan, if one is taken, is a repeat measurement with the margin described above. It is not, on its own, a reason to continue care. The decision about whether to keep coming in is a decision, not a default, and the wellness care guide sets out what the evidence supports.

What are the risks?

The scan itself carries no physical risk: it is a camera, and there is no radiation, contact or force. Two things are worth knowing.

The first is privacy. A scan is a recording of your body's shape and a set of measurements. Ask whether it is kept, where (in the practice's own records, the scanner's software, or both), for how long, and who can see it. The manufacturer says its software is built with HIPAA compliance in mind; that is the manufacturer's phrasing, not a description of how this practice stores a scan, and the practice's own obligations for anything it keeps about you apply here as they do to the rest of your record.

The second is the picture. A rendering of a "worsened" figure, or a body coloured red, can make a person believe their spine is damaged or deteriorating when the evidence above says a posture number does not carry that meaning. If a scan worries you, say so, and ask what the measurement actually shows.

What other options should I consider?

For a posture question, the best-supported options are not measurements at all. Guidance on desk and workstation setup, changes of position, breaks from a repetitive task and staying active are described in our posture article. For neck or back pain, the guides on neck pain and back pain describe the examination, the warning signs that need medical assessment first, and the care options, and none of them begins with a picture of your posture. A physical therapist, a medical doctor or a spine specialist answers different needs, and referral is part of the plan when the finding is not ours.

What should I ask before a scan?

• Is a scan part of my visit, and does it carry a separate charge?
• What is the scan for, if the examination is what decides my care?
• Is the recording kept, where, for how long, and who can see it?
• If it is repeated, how much change would mean something, given the margin of the method?

If we are not able to help you with your problem or are unable to reduce your pain levels, we will make sure to give you a recommendation to another experienced provider.

Contact the team to discuss availability and fees. The new-patient chiropractic offer has its own terms; ask about the cost of additional services before agreeing to them.