A low-cost, portable system for the assessment of the postural response of wheelchair users to perturbations

• Published in: IEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 435 - 442
• Main Authors: Kamper, D.G., Adams, T.C., Reger, S.I., Parnianpour, M., Barin, K., Linden, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.12.1999
• Subjects: Acceleration; Biomechanical Phenomena; Biomedical engineering; Biomedical measurements; Computer Simulation; Control systems; Costs and Cost Analysis; Equipment Design; Handicapped persons; Humans; Motion control; Posture - physiology; Reproducibility of Results; Rotation; Servomechanisms; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation; Signal to noise ratio; Space life sciences; Stability; Testing; Torque; Turning; Vehicle driving; Wheelchairs
• ISSN: 1063-6528; 1558-0024
• DOI: 10.1109/86.808947

Maintaining seated postural stability presents a serious challenge to wheelchair users in vehicles, even during normal driving conditions. The purpose of this research was to develop a system for the study of seated postural control in response to perturbations similar to those that might be experienced during vehicle turning and braking. A servo-controlled tilt platform was constructed to provide a low-cost, small, and easily transportable device for generating precise and repeatable perturbations. Tilt platform operation was examined for accuracy and reproducibility of a desired perturbation. Repeatability was high with a mean signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 45.4 for a given perturbation measured across 11 subjects. An initial comparison of stability results obtained on the tilt platform and in a vehicle showed a correspondence, although differences were apparent. The tilt platform has been used successfully to assess balance in spinal cord-injured subjects and to test wheelchair securement systems.