Quantification of Trunk Postural Stability Using Convex Polyhedron of the Time-Series Accelerometer Data

Techniques to quantify postural stability usually rely on the evaluation of only two variables, that is, two coordinates of COP. However, by using three variables, that is, three components of acceleration vector, it is possible to describe human movement more precisely. For this purpose, a single t...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roman Melecky, Vladimir Socha, Patrik Kutilek, Lenka Hanakova, Peter Takac, Jakub Schlenker, Zdenek Svoboda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2016-01-01
Series:Journal of Healthcare Engineering
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/1621562
Description
Summary:Techniques to quantify postural stability usually rely on the evaluation of only two variables, that is, two coordinates of COP. However, by using three variables, that is, three components of acceleration vector, it is possible to describe human movement more precisely. For this purpose, a single three-axis accelerometer was used, making it possible to evaluate 3D movement by use of a novel method, convex polyhedron (CP), together with a traditional method, based on area of the confidence ellipse (ACE). Ten patients (Pts) with cerebellar ataxia and eleven healthy individuals of control group (CG) participated in the study. The results show a significant increase of volume of the CP (CPV) in Pts or CG standing on foam surface with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC) after the EC phase. Significant difference between Pts and CG was found in all cases as well. Correlation coefficient indicates strong correlation between the CPV and ACE in most cases of patient examinations, thus confirming the possibility of quantification of postural instability by the introduced method of CPV.
ISSN:2040-2295
2040-2309