Stability of the human body investigated by sway magnetometry

Abstract

A new technique using a pre-calibrated magnetometer has been used to investigate the stability of the human body. Transducer coils were attached to a belt which was worn by the subject. Sway was measured over 30 s periods with eyes open and eyes closed. For 10 normal subjects, the mean sway speed was 3-6 ± 0-9 mm/s with eyes open, and 53 ± 1-5 mm/s with eyes closed. The mean ratio for eyes open to eyes closed was 0-68 ± 0-10. The test was simple to perform and gave reproducible results.

Key Words:

• Stability
• Sway
• Magnetometry