Static Balance Characterization using a single IMU Located in the Lower Back: Preliminary Results

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Medical Instrumentation
• Clinical Assessment

Background:

• Balance disorders are a significant concern, increasing fall risk.
• Quantifying balance deficits requires reliable and objective measurement tools.
• Current methods for balance assessment can be subjective or costly.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel method for objective static balance characterization using accelerometer data.
• To evaluate the efficacy of normality circles, centroid, and dispersion circles during the mCTSIB test.
• To compare the proposed method with the established Berg Balance Scale (BBS) for balance assessment.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing an accelerometer sensor placed at the lower back to measure center of mass accelerations.
• Applying normality circles, centroid, and dispersion circle analysis during the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction in Balance (mCTSIB).
• Comparing the proposed accelerometer-based method with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores in healthy and unhealthy subjects.

Main Results:

• The proposed method successfully differentiated between healthy and unhealthy subjects based on static balance metrics.
• Lower Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores correlated with lower dispersion circles and deviations from normality circles.
• The accelerometer-based approach demonstrated objectivity, portability, simplicity, and low cost.

Conclusions:

• The proposed accelerometer-based methodology provides an objective, simple, and cost-effective way to characterize static balance.
• This technique can aid in simplifying and objectifying balance evaluations in clinical practice.
• The method shows potential for improving the accuracy and accessibility of balance disorder detection.