scholarly journals Evaluation of user experience of a computer vision-based stabilometry system in Multiple Sclerosis

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Germán David Sosa ◽  
Hugo Franco
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
User Experience ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Balance Function ◽  
Postural Control System ◽  
Balance Test ◽  
Assessment Tests ◽  
Computerized Posturography ◽  
Therapeutic Procedures

Computarized posturography is a set of methods and techniques intended to provide objective measures of the balance function of a subject with postural control system alterations, in order to support diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Modern computerized posturography systems yield accurate and reliable representations of the patient performance, such as force platform-based stabilograms (an account of the center of pressure trajectory along a balance test). However, such tests are quite expensive and usually imply uncomfortable displacements and procedures, such as marker placement protocols. As an alternative, recent developments on video-based stabilometry systems offer portable, low-cost computarized posturography solutions. This work presents an exploratory study on the user experience of the application of such systems in balance function assessment tests for both patients with diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis and clinical personnel. The reception reported by the survey is highly positive, yet it points out that some improvements in the preparation of clinical staff to interpert stabilometry results are required, and summarized balance function descriptors could be necessary.

scholarly journals Effectiveness and Limitations of Unsupervised Home-Based Balance Rehabilitation with Nintendo Wii in People with Multiple Sclerosis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Pau ◽  
Giancarlo Coghe ◽  
Federica Corona ◽  
Bruno Leban ◽  
Maria Giovanna Marrosu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Postural Control ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Frontal Plane ◽  
Nintendo Wii ◽  
Postural Control System ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Before And After

Balance training represents a critical part of the rehabilitation process of individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) since impaired postural control is a distinctive symptom of the disease. In recent years, the use of the Nintendo Wii system has become widespread among rehabilitation specialists for this purpose, but few studies have verified the effectiveness of such an approach using quantitative measures of balance. In this study, we analyzed the postural sway features of a cohort of twenty-seven individuals with MS before and after 5 weeks of unsupervised home-based balance training with the Wii system. Center of pressure (COP) time-series were recorded using a pressure platform and processed to calculate sway area, COP path length, displacements, and velocities in mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) directions. Although the results show a significant reduction in sway area, COP displacements, and velocity, such improvements are essentially restricted to the ML direction, as the Wii platform appears to properly stimulate the postural control system in the frontal plane but not in the sagittal one. Available Wii games, although somewhat beneficial, appear not fully suitable for rehabilitation in MS owing to scarce flexibility and adaptability to MS needs and thus specific software should be developed.

scholarly journals Minimal shoes improve stability and mobility in persons with a history of falls

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Cudejko ◽  
James Gardiner ◽  
Asangaedem Akpan ◽  
Kristiaan D’Août
Keyword(s):  
Fall Prevention ◽  
Postural Stability ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Stability Margin ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Balance Test ◽  
Margin Of Stability ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
History Of ◽  
Falls In Older Adults

AbstractPostural and walking instabilities contribute to falls in older adults. Given that shoes affect human locomotor stability and that visual, cognitive and somatosensory systems deteriorate during aging, we aimed to: (1) compare the effects of footwear type on stability and mobility in persons with a history of falls, and (2) determine whether the effect of footwear type on stability is altered by the absence of visual input or by an additional cognitive load. Thirty participants performed standing and walking trials in three footwear conditions, i.e. conventional shoes, minimal shoes, and barefoot. The outcomes were: (1) postural stability (movement of the center of pressure during eyes open/closed), (2) walking stability (Margin of Stability during normal/dual-task walking), (3) mobility (the Timed Up and Go test and the Star Excursion Balance test), and (4) perceptions of the shoes (Monitor Orthopaedic Shoes questionnaire). Participants were more stable during standing and walking in minimal shoes than in conventional shoes, independent of visual or walking condition. Minimal shoes were more beneficial for mobility than conventional shoes and barefoot. This study supports the need for longitudinal studies investigating whether minimal footwear is more beneficial for fall prevention in older people than conventional footwear.

Validating the BTrackS Balance Plate as a low cost alternative for the measurement of sway-induced center of pressure

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (16) ◽  
pp. 4142-4145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn M. O’Connor ◽  
Harsimran S. Baweja ◽  
Daniel J. Goble
Keyword(s):  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Low Cost

Postural sway with earth-fixed and body-referenced finger contact in young and older adults

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
Reginald L. Reginella ◽  
Mark S. Redfern ◽  
Joseph M. Furman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Body Sway ◽  
Support Surface ◽  
Proprioceptive Information ◽  
Postural Control System ◽  
Fixed Reference ◽  
Older Subjects

Sensory information from lightly touching a reference with the hand is known to influence postural sway in young adults. The primary aim of this study was to compare the influence of finger contact (FC) with an earth-fixed reference to the influence of FC with a body-fixed reference. A second goal of this study was to determine if FC is used differently by older adults compared to younger adults. Using a force plate, center of pressure at the feet was recorded from blindfolded young and older subjects during several conditions. Subjects either did or did not lightly touch a force-sensitive plate that was either earth-fixed or moved forward and backward in synchrony with body sway (that is, sway-referenced). In addition, support surface conditions were also varied, including a fixed floor and a sway-referenced floor using an EquitestTM. Results showed that the type of FC, floor condition, and age each had an effect on postural sway. Touching an earth-fixed plate decreased postural sway as compared to no touching, while touching a sway-referenced plate incresased sway. This influence of FC was enhanced when the floor was sway-referenced. Although older subjects swayed more than young subjects overall, no age-FC interactions occurred, indicating that FC was not utilized differently between the age groups. This study suggests that FC cannot be disregarded as erroneous, especially when proprioceptive information from the legs is distorted. Further, FC is integrated with other sensory information by the postural control system similarly in young and older persons.

Dynamic and Static Assessment of Single-Leg Postural Control in Female Soccer Players

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-178
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Meiners ◽  
Janice K. Loudon
Keyword(s):  
Lower Extremity ◽  
Postural Stability ◽  
Postural Sway ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Force Plate ◽  
Soccer Players ◽  
Balance Test ◽  
Left Lower Extremity ◽  
Static Assessment ◽  
Dynamic Postural Stability

Purpose/Background: Various methods are available for assessment of static and dynamic postural stability. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dynamic postural stability as measured by the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and static postural sway assessment as measured by the TechnoBody™ Pro-Kin in female soccer players. A secondary purpose was to determine side-to-side symmetry in this cohort. Methods: A total of 18 female soccer players completed testing on the SEBT and Technobody™ Pro-Kin balance device. Outcome measures were anterior, posterior medial, and posterior lateral reaches from the SEBT and center of pressure in the x- and y-axes as well as SD of movement in the forward/backward and medial/lateral directions from the force plate on left and right legs. Bivariate correlations were determined between the 8 measures. In addition, paired Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to determine similarity between limb scores. Results: All measures on both the SEBT and postural sway assessment were significantly correlated when comparing dominant with nondominant lower-extremities with the exception of SD of movement in both x- and y-axes. When correlating results of the SEBT with postural sway assessment, a significant correlation was found between the SEBT right lower-extremity posterior lateral reach (r = .567, P < .05) and summed SEBT (r = .486, P < .05) and the center of pressure in the y-axis. A significant correlation was also found on the left lower-extremity, with SD of forward/backward movement and SEBT posterior medial reach (r = −.511, P < .05). Conclusions: Dynamic postural tests and static postural tests provide different information to the overall assessment of balance in female soccer players. Relationship between variables differed based on the subject’s lower-extremity dominance.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Functional Stability in Young Adolescent Female Artistic Gymnasts

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Opala-Berdzik ◽  
Magdalena Głowacka ◽  
Kajetan J. Słomka
Keyword(s):  
Postural Control ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
National Level ◽  
Stability Limit ◽  
Young Adolescent ◽  
Quiet Standing ◽  
Adolescent Female ◽  
Functional Stability ◽  
Postural Control System ◽  
Stability Limits

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine whether young adolescent female artistic gymnasts demonstrate better functional stability than age- and sex-matched non-athletes. Different characteristics of the gymnasts’ postural control were expected to be observed. Twenty-two 10- to 13-year-old healthy females (ten national-level artistic gymnasts and twelve non-athletes) participated in the study. To assess their forward functional stability, the 30-s limit of stability test was performed on a force plate. The test consisted of three phases: quiet standing, transition to maximal forward leaning, and standing in the maximal forward leaning position. Between-group comparisons of the directional subcomponents of the root mean squares and mean velocities of the center of pressure and rambling-trembling displacements in two phases (quiet standing and standing in maximal leaning) were conducted. Moreover, anterior stability limits were compared. During standing in maximal forward leaning, there were no differences in the center of pressure and rambling measures between gymnasts and non-athletes (p > 0.05). The values of trembling measures in both anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions were significantly lower in gymnasts (p < 0.05). Both groups presented similar values for anterior stability limits (p > 0.05). The comparisons of rambling components may suggest a similar supraspinal control of standing in the maximal leaning position between gymnasts and healthy non-athletes. However, decreased trembling in gymnasts may indicate reduced noise in their postural control system possibly due to superior control processes at the spinal level. The anterior stability limit was not influenced by gymnastics training in female adolescents.

scholarly journals Differences in Balance Function Between Cancer Survivors and Healthy Subjects: A Pilot Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 1144-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichiro Morishita ◽  
Yuta Mitobe ◽  
Atsuhiro Tsubaki ◽  
Osamu Aoki ◽  
Jack B. Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Muscle Strength ◽  
Cancer Survivors ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Body Sway ◽  
Balance Function ◽  
Adult Cancer Survivors ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
The Mean

Older adults who have survived cancer experience significantly more falls compared with healthy adults. Adult cancer survivors may also have a lower balance function than healthy adults. We examined muscle strength and balance function among 19 cancer survivors and 14 healthy subjects. The mean age of the cancer survivors was 51.5 ± 11.2 years; 6 men and 13 women. Cancer diagnoses included breast cancer, retroperitoneal sarcoma, acute leukemia, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, thyroid cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma, and tongue cancer. The mean age of healthy subjects was 47.4 ± 14 years; 3 men, 11 women. Muscle strength was assessed using hand grip and knee extensor strength tests. Balance function was evaluated using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, and body sway was tested using a force platform. No significant differences were found with respect to right and left grip strength or right and left knee extension strength between the 2 groups. A significantly higher TUG time was observed in cancer survivors than in healthy subjects ( P < .05). With eyes open, the area of the center of pressure was significantly larger in cancer survivors than in healthy subjects ( P < .05). Similarly, the length per area was significantly lower both with eyes open and closed for cancer survivors than for healthy subjects ( P < .05). TUG was significantly correlated with muscle strength in both groups ( P < .05). However, no body sway parameters were related to muscle strength in either group. Cancer survivors had lower balance function that might not have been related to muscle strength. Cancer survivors should be evaluated for balance function as there is a potential for impairment. The findings of this study will be relevant for planning the prevention of falls for cancer survivors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document