Multisegmental Sensor Integration for Balance Control

Falling and the fear of falling often lead to lack of independence and decreased mobility, followed by functional deficits and reduced quality of life. All these consequences of falling put a heavy burden on the healthcare system. Given the high cost associated with falling, research in this area has garnered much attention. Some research has identified that both vibrotactile trunk tilt feedback and vibrotactile foot pressure feedback significantly decrease fall risk in healthy elderly subjects as compared to no feedback. These technologies are currently being marketed as the Balance Belt and Walkasins, respectively. Our approach entails using these existing technologies in a unique way to develop a multisegmental sensor system for balance control. We envision combining the proven technology of the Balance Belt"s tilt sensor with commercial off-the-shelf Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) to obtain a reliable and extremely accurate measure of the Center of Gravity. We shall also combine the orientation of the hips and legs measured by the IMUs with the Walkasins demonstrated ability to determine the Center of Pressure (CoP) for each foot to determine the location of the whole body CoP during standing and the phases of gait that both feet are on the ground.