Body postural sway analysis in older people with different fall histories

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Biomechanics
• Medical Engineering

Background:

• Falls are a significant concern for older adults, leading to injury and reduced quality of life.
• Assessing balance and identifying individuals at risk of falling is crucial for preventative interventions.
• Traditional balance assessment methods may have limitations in objectivity and sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effectiveness of postural sway analysis using inertial sensors for differentiating fall risk in older adults.
• To compare the diagnostic performance of this novel method with established balance assessments.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 86 older adults (average age 80.4 years) categorized as non-fallers, once-fallers, and multiple-fallers.
• Trunk angular rotation and velocity in roll and pitch planes were measured using a lower-back-mounted inertial sensor during five standing tests.
• Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM), Expectation-Maximisation (EM), and Minimum Message Length (MML) algorithms were employed to derive a body sway index.

Main Results:

• The sway index derived from 'standing with feet together' and 'standing with one foot in front' tests effectively distinguished fallers from non-fallers.
• This method achieved a specificity of 75.7%-77.7% and sensitivity of 78.6%-82.1%.
• Performance favorably compared to the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), which showed 70.5% specificity and 75.3% sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• Postural sway analysis using inertial sensors and advanced algorithms offers a promising, objective tool for diagnosing balance disorders in older populations.
• This approach demonstrates potential for improved fall risk assessment compared to current clinical tools.
• Further validation and integration into clinical protocols could enhance fall prevention strategies.