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Assessing Balance Impairment

Correlating inertial sensors with standard scales

Publish date:: September 15, 2015

Wireless inertial sensors can detect postural sway abnormalities in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are minimally disabled and may identify balance impairment prior to patients developing clinically evident disability or impaired gait speed. This according to a study of 20 patients with MS and 20 age-and sex-matched controls who stood on a foam surface with eyes open and with eyes closed. Researchers found:

• The only variables that predicted whether a subject had MS were medio-lateral sway path length and medio-lateral range of sway acceleration amplitude, each in the eyes-open condition.

• Range of sway acceleration amplitude significantly correlated with scores for both the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale and the 12-item MS Walking Scale (MSWS-12).

Citation: Solomon AJ, Jacobs JV, Lomond KV, Henry SM. Detection of postural sway abnormalities by wireless inertial sensors in minimally disabled patients with multiple sclerosis: a case-control study. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2015 Sep 1;12(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s12984-015-0066-9.

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