A device for the evaluation of sitting and reach balance in people in wheelchairs and standing

Abstract

A device is described to measure balance including side-to-side, forward-to-back sway and the centre of gravity of the body during standing and sitting in a chair or wheelchair. The device incorporates a 2-dimensional reach test which can assess the degree of disability in central core balance when reaching for an object to either side or in the forward direction. The device has a weight measuring linearity error of less than 2%, an effective frequency response from DC to 50 cycles per second, and the correlation between the true position of a weight and the measured position through its sensors is 0.98. The device measures body sway in the forward and lateral directions and tremor. This design should be quite useful in rehabilitation to measure stability of the body and its relation to core strength and level of disability. This is especially important before and after rehabilitation to quantify functional outcomes in a time when insurance reimbursement demands quantifiable improvement.