Name: a vibrotactile feedback device for seated balance assessment and training
Uploaded: 2019-01-20T13:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Vibrotactile Feedback Device for Seated Balance Assessment and Training at JoVE.com

The authors acknowledge the design efforts of the undergraduate students Animesh Singh Kumawat, Kshitij Agarwal, Quinn Boser, Benjamin Cheung, Caroline Collins, Sarah Lojczyc, Derek Schlenker, Katherine Schoepp, and Arthur Zielinski.&#160;This study was partially funded through a Discovery Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2014-04666).

All methods described here have been approved by the Health Research Ethics Board of the University of Alberta.
1. Construction and Assembly of Structural Components
<ol>
	<li>Construct an attachment interface for interchangeable hemispherical bases: weld a base nut to a steel weld plate.&#160;</li>
	<li>Use a computer numerical controlled (CNC) milling machine to construct a cylindrical chassis, lid, and base from polyethylene as shown in Figure 1. Bolt the bas...

<ol>
	<li>Behm, D. 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Methods for constructing a portable, instrumented, sitting device are presented. The device is portable and durable, building on previous studies of wobble chairs2,4 and vibrational feedback5,6,7 to make the benefits of these tools more powerful and accessible. Follow the assembly protocol in reverse to prepare the device for transportation or storage. The difficulty of ...

Upright sitting is a prerequisite for other human sensorimotor functions, including skilled movements (e.g., typing) and perturbed balance tasks (e.g., riding on a train). To rehabilitate and improve sitting and related functions, modern balance training techniques are used: unstable surfaces perturb sitting1,2 and motion tracking quantifies balance proficiency3,4. Balance training outcomes improve when vibration is delivered to the body using patterns that match performance5. Such sensory feedback is evidently effective as a rehabilitation and training method; yet, current sensory feedback methods are geared towards standing balance and require laboratory-based equipment6,7.
The purpose of the work presented here is to build a portable device that can be sat upon and passively destabilized to various degrees while built-in instruments record its position and deliver vibrational feedback to the sitting surface. This combination of tools integrates previous work on wobble chairs2,4 and vibrational feedback5,6,7, making the benefits of these tools more powerful and accessible. Also presented are a procedure to train upright sitting and an analysis of the quantitative outcomes, following the established literature on posturographic measures8. These methods are appropriate for studying the effects of sitting balance exercise with an unstable surface when combined with vibrational feedback. Anticipated applications include sports training, general improvement of motor coordination, assessment of balance proficiency, and rehabilitation following skeletal, muscular, or neurological injury.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Chassis</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8657K421</td>
			<td>Moisture-Resistant LDPE Polyethylene Sheet 1-1/2&#34; Thick, 24&#34; X 24&#34;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lid</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8657K414</td>
			<td>Moisture-Resistant LDPE Polyethylene Sheet 1/4&#34; Thick, 24&#34; X 24&#34;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Base</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8657K414</td>
			<td>Moisture-Resistant LDPE Polyethylene Sheet 1/4&#34; Thick, 24&#34; X 24&#34;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Grip-Tape</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6243T471</td>
			<td>Nonabrasive Antislip Tape, Textured, 6&#34; Wide Strip, 2&#39; Long, Black</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Base Nut</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>90596A039</td>
			<td>Steel Round-Base Weld Nut, 5/8&#34;-11 Thread Size</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Weld Plate</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>1388K142</td>
			<td>Low-Carbon Steel Sheet 1/16&#34; Thick, 3&#34; X 3&#34;, Ground Finish</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Threaded Rod</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>90322A170</td>
			<td>3&#34; 5/16&#34;-18 Medium-Strength Alloy Steel Threaded Stud</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sleeve</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8745K19</td>
			<td>Chemical-Resistant PVC (Type I) Rod 1-1/4&#34; Diameter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Square Flange</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8910K395</td>
			<td>Low Carbon Steel Bar, 1/8&#34; Thick, 1&#34; Wide</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hitch</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>4931T123</td>
			<td>Bolt-Together Framing Heavy-Duty Steel, 1-1/2&#34; Square</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Curved Base</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8745K48</td>
			<td>PVC Rod, 6&#34; Diameter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hitch Insert</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6535K313</td>
			<td>Bolt-Together Framing Heavy-Duty Steel, 1&#34; Square</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Extrusion</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6545K7</td>
			<td>1045 Cold Drawn Steel Square Bar Stock, 1&#39; X 1&#34; Wide, Unpolished</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clamp</td>
			<td>Vlier</td>
			<td>TH103A</td>
			<td>Adjustable Torque Knob</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Footrest</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>6582K431</td>
			<td>4130 Steel Tubing, 1&#34; X 1&#34; Wide, 0.065&#34; Wall Thickness, Unpolished Mill Finish</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Counterwieght</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>8910K67</td>
			<td>Low-Carbon Steel Rectangular Bar 1-1/8&#34; Thick, 4&#34; Width</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clevis Pin</td>
			<td>McMaster-Carr</td>
			<td>97245A616</td>
			<td>Zinc-Plated Steel Clevis Pin with Hairpin Cotter Pin, 3/16&#34; Diameter, 1-9/16&#34; Usable Length</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microprocessor</td>
			<td>Arduino</td>
			<td>MEGA 2560</td>
			<td>Microcontroller board with 54 digital I/O pins and USB connection</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Inertial Measurement Unit</td>
			<td>x-io Technologies Ltd.</td>
			<td>x-IMU</td>
			<td>Inertial Measurement Unit and Attitude Heading Reference System with enclosure</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vibrating Tactor</td>
			<td>Precision Microdrives</td>
			<td>DEV-11008</td>
			<td>Lilypad Vibe Board, available from SparkFun Electronics</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

a vibrotactile feedback device for seated balance assessment and training

Postural perturbations, motion tracking, and sensory feedback are modern techniques used to challenge, assess, and train upright sitting, respectively. The goal of the developed protocol is to construct and operate a sitting platform that can be passively destabilized while an inertial measurement unit quantifies its motion and vibrating elements deliver tactile feedback to the user. Interchangeable seat attachments alter the stability level of the device to safely challenge sitting balance. A built-in microcontroller allows fine-tuning of the feedback parameters to augment sensory function. Posturographic measures, typical of balance assessment protocols, summarize the motion signals acquired during timed balance trials. No dynamic sitting protocol to date provides variable challenge, quantification, and sensory feedback free of laboratory constraints. Our results demonstrate that non-disabled users of the device exhibit significant changes in posturographic measures when balance difficulty is altered or vibrational feedback provided. The portable, versatile device has potential applications in rehabilitation (following skeletal, muscular, or neurological injury), training (for sports or spatial awareness), entertainment (via virtual or augmented reality), and research (of sitting-related disorders).

Table 2 shows, for each experimental condition, the posturographic measures derived from observations of the AP and ML support surface tilts, averaged over 144 balance trials performed by 12 participants (2 x 2 x 3 trials per participant).
Effect of Changing the Balance Condition: The base condition was chosen to be dependent on the eye condition (i.e., when the eyes were closed, the ba...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about A Vibrotactile Feedback Device for Seated Balance Assessment and Training at JoVE.com

A Vibrotactile Feedback Device for Seated Balance Assessment and Training

A sitting platform has been developed and assembled that passively destabilizes sitting posture in humans. During the user&#39;s stabilizing task, an inertial measurement unit records the device&#39;s motion, and vibrating elements deliver performance-based feedback to the seat. The portable, versatile device may be used in rehabilitation, assessment, and training paradigms.

Postural perturbations, motion tracking, and sensory feedback are modern techniques used to challenge, assess, and train upright sitting, respectively. ...

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