Wearable Gait Lab System providing quantitative statistical support for human balance tests

Abstract

Abstract Sensory devices have the potential to improve monitoring balance tests and providing quantitative supports for activity analysis. The Wearable Gait Lab system is proposed to monitor activities of feet and legs during balance tests. In this system, a wearable underfoot force sensing unit is used to record foot motions and plantar pressure data; a joint angular and EMG sensing unit is used to record leg motions and muscular data; and an android application is implemented to control all units, monitor the data recording process, and upload recorded data to cloud server, which allows health professionals to review it remotely. The system provides adequate data for balance ability analysis and simplifies the scoring processes in balance tests. The proposed system is evaluated with standard balance tests (Limits of Stability, Sit-To-Stand, and Rhythmic Weight Shift), whereas the data collected are analyzed with data mining techniques to verify the reliability of the designated process. Certain parameters are computed such as Center of Gravity (COG), weight transfer time, and sway velocities. The results show that the system is informational and reliable in the process of determining balance status during tests with additional advantages in high portability and efficient review communications.