Displacement of centre of mass during quiet standing assessed using accelerometry in older fallers and non-fallers.
Postural sway during quiet standing is associated with falls risk in older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of a range of accelerometer-derived parameters of centre of mass (COM) displacement in identifying older adults at risk of falling. A series of instrumented standing balance trials were performed to investigate postural control in a group of older adults, categorised as fallers or non-fallers. During each trial, participants were asked to stand as still as possible under two conditions: comfortable stance (six repetitions) and semi-tandem stance (three repetitions). A tri-axial accelerometer was secured to the lower back during the trials. Accelerometer data were twice integrated to estimate COM displacement during the trials, with numerical techniques used to reduce integration error. Anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) sway range, sway length and sway velocity were examined, along with root mean squared (RMS) acceleration. All derived parameters significantly discriminated fallers from non-fallers during both comfortable and semi-tandem stance. Results indicate that these accelerometer-based estimates of COM displacement may improve the discriminative power of quiet standing falls risk assessments, with potential for use in unsupervised balance assessment.
Technology Research for Independent Living Centre, and Intel Labs, Ireland. emer.doheny@intel.com
Emer P
EP
Doheny
Denise
D
McGrath
Barry R
BR
Greene
Lorcan
L
Walsh
David
D
McKeown
Clodagh
C
Cunningham
Lisa
L
Crosby
Rose Anne
RA
Kenny
Brian
B
Caulfield
D061725:Accelerometry; D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004856:Postural Balance