A low-cost, portable system for the assessment of the postural response of wheelchair users to perturbations.
Maintaining seated postural stability presents a serious challenge to wheelchair users in vehicles, even during normal driving conditions. The purpose of this research was to develop a system for the study of seated postural control in response to perturbations similar to those that might be experienced during vehicle turning and braking. A servo-controlled tilt platform was constructed to provide a low-cost, small, and easily transportable device for generating precise and repeatable perturbations. Tilt platform operation was examined for accuracy and reproducibility of a desired perturbation. Repeatability was high with a mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 45.4 for a given perturbation measured across 11 subjects. An initial comparison of stability results obtained on the tilt platform and in a vehicle showed a correspondence, although differences were apparent. The tilt platform has been used successfully to assess balance in spinal cord-injured subjects and to test wheelchair securement systems.
Kamper
D G
DG
Biomedical Engineering Center, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA. d-kamper@nwa.edu
Adams
T C
TC
Reger
S I
SI
Parnianpour
M
M
Barin
K
K
Linden
M
M
D000054:Acceleration; D016477:Artifacts; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012399:Rotation; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation; D019415:Torque; D014910:Wheelchairs