7,509 research outputs found
Assessing Postural Stability Via the Correlation Patterns of Vertical Ground Reaction Force Components
Background Many methods have been proposed to assess the stability of human postural balance by using a force plate. While most of these approaches characterize postural stability by extracting features from the trajectory of the center of pressure (COP), this work develops stability measures derived from components of the ground reaction force (GRF). Methods In comparison with previous GRF-based approaches that extract stability features from the GRF resultant force, this study proposes three feature sets derived from the correlation patterns among the vertical GRF (VGRF) components. The first and second feature sets quantitatively assess the strength and changing speed of the correlation patterns, respectively. The third feature set is used to quantify the stabilizing effect of the GRF coordination patterns on the COP. Results In addition to experimentally demonstrating the reliability of the proposed features, the efficacy of the proposed features has also been tested by using them to classify two age groups (18–24 and 65–73 years) in quiet standing. The experimental results show that the proposed features are considerably more sensitive to aging than one of the most effective conventional COP features and two recently proposed COM features. Conclusions By extracting information from the correlation patterns of the VGRF components, this study proposes three sets of features to assess human postural stability during quiet standing. As demonstrated by the experimental results, the proposed features are not only robust to inter-trial variability but also more accurate than the tested COP and COM features in classifying the older and younger age groups. An additional advantage of the proposed approach is that it reduces the force sensing requirement from 3D to 1D, substantially reducing the cost of the force plate measurement system
Sensory supplementation system based on electrotactile tongue biofeedback of head position for balance control
The present study aimed at investigating the effects of an artificial head
position-based tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback on postural control
during quiet standing under different somatosensory conditions from the support
surface. Eight young healthy adults were asked to stand as immobile as possible
with their eyes closed on two Firm and Foam support surface conditions executed
in two conditions of No-biofeedback and Biofeedback. In the Foam condition, a
6-cm thick foam support surface was placed under the subjects' feet to alter
the quality and/or quantity of somatosensory information at the plantar sole
and the ankle. The underlying principle of the biofeedback consisted of
providing supplementary information about the head orientation with respect to
gravitational vertical through electrical stimulation of the tongue. Centre of
foot pressure (CoP) displacements were recorded using a force platform. Larger
CoP displacements were observed in the Foam than Firm conditions in the two
conditions of No-biofeedback and Biofeedback. Interestingly, this destabilizing
effect was less accentuated in the Biofeedback than No-biofeedback condition.
In accordance with the sensory re-weighting hypothesis for balance control, the
present findings evidence that the availability of the central nervous system
to integrate an artificial head orientation information delivered through
electrical stimulation of the tongue to limit the postural perturbation induced
by alteration of somatosensory input from the support surface
Control of posture with FES systems
One of the major obstacles in restoration of functional FES supported standing in paraplegia is the lack of knowledge of a suitable control strategy. The main issue is how to integrate the purposeful actions of the non-paralysed upper body when interacting with the environment while standing, and the actions of the artificial FES control system supporting the paralyzed lower extremities. In this paper we provide a review of our approach to solving this question, which focuses on three inter-related areas: investigations of the basic mechanisms of functional postural responses in neurologically intact subjects; re-training of the residual sensory-motor activities of the upper body in paralyzed individuals; and development of closed-loop FES control systems for support of the paralyzed joints
Differential postural effects of plantar-flexor muscles fatigue under normal, altered and improved vestibular and neck somatosensory conditions
The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of plantar-flexor
muscles fatigue on postural control during quiet standing under normal, altered
and improved vestibular and neck somatosensory conditions. To address this
objective, young male university students were asked to stand upright as still
as possible with their eyes closed in two conditions of No Fatigue and Fatigue
of the plantar-flexor muscles. In Experiment 1 (n=15), the postural task was
executed in two Neutral head and Head tilted backward postures, recognized to
degrade vestibular and neck somatosensory information. In Experiment 2 (n=15),
the postural task was executed in two conditions of No tactile and Tactile
stimulation of the neck provided by the application of strips of adhesive
bandage to the skin over and around the neck. Centre of foot pressure
displacements were recorded using a force platform. Results showed that (1) the
Fatigue condition yielded increased CoP displacements relative to the No
Fatigue condition (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2), (2) this destabilizing
effect was more accentuated in the Head tilted backward posture than Neutral
head posture (Experiment 1) and (3) this destabilizing effect was less
accentuated in the condition of Tactile stimulation than that of No tactile
stimulation of the neck (Experiment 2). In the context of the multisensory
control of balance, these results suggest an increased reliance on vestibular
and neck somatosensory information for controlling posture during quiet
standing in condition of altered ankle neuromuscular function
Push recovery with stepping strategy based on time-projection control
In this paper, we present a simple control framework for on-line push
recovery with dynamic stepping properties. Due to relatively heavy legs in our
robot, we need to take swing dynamics into account and thus use a linear model
called 3LP which is composed of three pendulums to simulate swing and torso
dynamics. Based on 3LP equations, we formulate discrete LQR controllers and use
a particular time-projection method to adjust the next footstep location
on-line during the motion continuously. This adjustment, which is found based
on both pelvis and swing foot tracking errors, naturally takes the swing
dynamics into account. Suggested adjustments are added to the Cartesian 3LP
gaits and converted to joint-space trajectories through inverse kinematics.
Fixed and adaptive foot lift strategies also ensure enough ground clearance in
perturbed walking conditions. The proposed structure is robust, yet uses very
simple state estimation and basic position tracking. We rely on the physical
series elastic actuators to absorb impacts while introducing simple laws to
compensate their tracking bias. Extensive experiments demonstrate the
functionality of different control blocks and prove the effectiveness of
time-projection in extreme push recovery scenarios. We also show self-produced
and emergent walking gaits when the robot is subject to continuous dragging
forces. These gaits feature dynamic walking robustness due to relatively soft
springs in the ankles and avoiding any Zero Moment Point (ZMP) control in our
proposed architecture.Comment: 20 pages journal pape
The Ks Brief Stimulator® role in postural alterations treatment: Clinical case reports
The aim of the study was to evaluate the modulations of the postural tonic system, observing the variations of plantar support. We worked on the restoration of the diaphragm function through respiratory gymnastics strategy that provides for the use of the KS Brief Stimulator® tool. For the study, 5 subjects between the ages of 10 and 27, male and female, were recruited, all with different postural alterations. The subjects underwent a preliminary baropodometric evaluation and then treated, on a monthly basis for a total of 5 months, with the KS brief Stimulator® technology and re-evaluated at the end of each treatment. Twice a week everyone carried out adapted physical activity protocols. At the end of each treatment the results of the baropodometric tests reported changes in terms of improvement of the pressure centre, showing a more congruous value than the concept of the centre of gravity and changes in the distribution of loads in both feet, in all subjects. Concluding, we could deduce the fundamental role of the diaphragm muscle in the global postural rebalancing and affirm that the application of the Ks brief Stimulator® technology, alongside the kinesiological work, represents the keystone for the restoration of the diaphragmatic function
Mechanisms of interpersonal sway synchrony and stability
Here we explain the neural and mechanical mechanisms responsible for synchronizing sway and improving postural control during physical contact with another standing person. Postural control processes were modelled using an inverted pendulum under continuous feedback control. Interpersonal interactions were simulated either by coupling the sensory feedback loops or by physically coupling the pendulums with a damped spring. These simulations precisely recreated the timing and magnitude of sway interactions observed empirically. Effects of firmly grasping another person's shoulder were explained entirely by the mechanical linkage. This contrasted with light touch and/or visual contact, which were explained by a sensory weighting phenomenon; each person's estimate of upright was based on a weighted combination of veridical sensory feedback combined with a small contribution from their partner. Under these circumstances, the model predicted reductions in sway even without the need to distinguish between self and partner motion. Our findings explain the seemingly paradoxical observation that touching a swaying person can improve postural control.This work was supported by two BBSRC grants (BB/100579X/1 and an Industry Interchange Award)
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