Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/ Journal of Medical D...arrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos Open Access logo, converted into svg, designed by PLoS. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_Access_logo_PLoS_white.svg art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina, Beao, JakobVoss, and AnonMoos http://www.plos.org/
Journal of Medical Devices
Article . 2009 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
versions View all 1 versions
addClaim

Wireless Vibrotactile Trainer for Balance Rehabilitation

Authors: B. C. Lee; K. H. Sienko;

Wireless Vibrotactile Trainer for Balance Rehabilitation

Abstract

During balance rehabilitation, physical therapists typically provide verbal instruction and/or physically reposition a patient to demonstrate proper postural position and movements. We have developed a wireless device that enables an expert (such as a physical therapist) to map his/her movements to a trainee in a hands-free fashion. The trainee is subsequently able to mimic the motion of the expert by interpreting positional cues presented via vibrotactile feedback to the relevant body segments. This device will potentially enable a therapist to aid multiple patients simultaneously and/or remotely, or enable a trainee (such as an athlete or student) to replicate expert movements. The device comprises an Expert Module (EM) and Trainee Module (TM). Both the EM and TM are composed of six degree-of-freedom inertial measurement units, microcontrollers, and batteries. The TM also has an array of vibrating actuators that provides the user with vibrotactile biofeedback. The expert dons the EM, and his/her relevant body position is computed by an algorithm based on an extended Kalman filter that provides asymptotic state estimation. The captured body position information is transmitted wirelessly to the trainee, and directional instructions regarding the desired motion/position are displayed via vibrotactile feedback. The trainee is instructed to move in the direction of the vibration sensation until the vibration is eliminated. While prior work has demonstrated the use of vibrotactile stimulation for improved motor learning, this portable and wireless device is suitable for use outside of a laboratory environment. Five healthy young blindfolded subjects were instructed to mimic recorded expert anterior-posterior trunk tilt motion using the aforementioned device in a series of proof-of-concept studies designed to investigate the effects of changing the feedback activation threshold and varying the nature of the feedback. To characterize the efficacy of the system, we performed a cross correlation of expert and trainee trunk tilt angle while varying the threshold angle difference at which vibrotactile feedback was applied. Preliminary results showed that subjects performed best at 0.5 and 0.75 degree thresholds among those tested (0.5, 0.75, 1.0, 1.25, 1.5). The normalized mean cross correlations for the 0.5 and 0.75 threshold conditions were 0.96 and 0.97 respectively, while the mean differences between expert and trainee trunk tilt angles were 1.1 and 1.2 degrees respectively. Further studies at 0.5 and 0.75 threshold conditions confirmed that proportional plus derivative feedback of the angle difference resulted in superior performance compared to proportional or derivative feedback alone. Repetition of the task was not significant suggesting that trainees could immediately use the device to accurately replicate expert anterior-posterior trunk tilt movements.

Related Organizations
  • BIP!
    Impact byBIP!
    selected citations
    These citations are derived from selected sources.
    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    1
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    Average
    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Average
Powered by OpenAIRE graph
Found an issue? Give us feedback
selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
1
Average
Average
Average
bronze
Beta
sdg_colorsSDGs: