title: Assessing and training standing balance in older adults: a novel approach using the 'Nintendo Wii' Balance Board.
abstract: Older adults, deemed to be at a high risk of falling, are often unable to participate in dynamic exercises due to physical constraints and/or a fear of falling. Using the Nintendo 'Wii Balance Board' (WBB) (Nintendo, Kyoto, Japan), we have developed an interface that allows a user to accurately calculate a participant's centre of pressure (COP) and incorporate it into a virtual environment to create bespoke diagnostic or training programmes that exploit real-time visual feedback of current COP position. This platform allows researchers to design, control and validate tasks that both train and test balance function. This technology provides a safe, adaptable and low-cost balance training/testing solution for older adults, particularly those at high-risk of falling.
authors.affiliation: The School of Psychology, The Queen's University Belfast, 18-30 Malone Road, Belfast BT9 5BN, UK. w.young@qub.ac.uk
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brault
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Craig
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control; D000368:Aged; D056228:Feedback, Sensory; D006801:Humans; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D018910:Video Games