"Accuracy of Balance Assessment Metrics Using Wearable Sensors "

Balance is a critical part of remaining healthy at all ages. Poor balance can lead to life-changing injury. Balance is typically assessed in a lab using a force-platform (FP), by comparing horizontal movements of the center of mass during trials with eyes open and eyes closed. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether inertial measurement units (IMUs) can be used to accurately measure balance. Simultaneous FP and IMU data were collected for 1 subject for 45s trials with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC). We evaluate whether IMU and FP metrics for COM movement (max accel and RMSV) are similar and whether EO differs from EC for both IMU and FP data. The IMU showed strong ability to measure variations in displacement (RMSD), along with total length in the eyes open condition. It is not a strong tool for measuring perturbed balance. Data collection indicated that eyes closed p-values were greater than eyes open for the force plate but not for the IMU's. When comparing IMU vs. force plate data, eyes opened and closed p-values were statistically significant for max acceleration but not for RMS velocity.