Abstract
BackgroundA balance test provides important information such as the standard to judge an individual’s functional recovery or make the prediction of falls. The development of a tool for a balance test that is inexpensive and widely available is needed, especially in clinical settings. The Wii Balance Board (WBB) is designed to test balance, but there is little software used in balance tests, and there are few studies on reliability and validity. Thus, we developed a balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board, investigated its reliability and validity, and compared it with a laboratory-grade force platform.MethodsTwenty healthy adults participated in our study. The participants participated in the test for inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity. The tests were performed with balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii balance board and a laboratory-grade force platform. Data such as Center of Pressure (COP) path length and COP velocity were acquired from the assessment systems. The inter-rater reliability, the intra-rater reliability, and concurrent validity were analyzed by an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value and a standard error of measurement (SEM).ResultsThe inter-rater reliability (ICC: 0.89-0.79, SEM in path length: 7.14-1.90, SEM in velocity: 0.74-0.07), intra-rater reliability (ICC: 0.92-0.70, SEM in path length: 7.59-2.04, SEM in velocity: 0.80-0.07), and concurrent validity (ICC: 0.87-0.73, SEM in path length: 5.94-0.32, SEM in velocity: 0.62-0.08) were high in terms of COP path length and COP velocity.ConclusionThe balance assessment software incorporating the Nintendo Wii balance board was used in our study and was found to be a reliable assessment device. In clinical settings, the device can be remarkably inexpensive, portable, and convenient for the balance assessment.
Highlights
A balance test provides important information such as the standard to judge an individual’s functional recovery or make the prediction of falls
The x-axis represents the mean Center of Pressure (COP) path length of both assessors and the y-axis represents the difference between both measurements
From the Bland-Altman plot, it can be concluded that the agreement between COP path lengths of inter-rater using Wii Balance Board (WBB) based system showed ‘good’ reliability
Summary
A balance test provides important information such as the standard to judge an individual’s functional recovery or make the prediction of falls. We developed a balance assessment software using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board, investigated its reliability and validity, and compared it with a laboratory-grade force platform. Force platform is time-consuming in terms of performance of tests and careful installation of related software [3]. It is placed beneath the floor, which is not or conveniently transported, and it increases costs considerably [3]. A force platform is suitable for use in laboratory experiments, it is unsuitable for assessment of patients in clinical setting [3,7]. The development of a tool that is both user-friendly and inexpensive is needed for facilitating simple and efficient balance assessment in clinical settings
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