A low-cost adaptive balance training platform for stroke patients: a usability study

Abstract

Stroke patients usually suffer from asymmetric posture due to hemi-paresis that can result in reduced postural controllability leading to a balance deficit. This deficit increases the risk of falls, which often makes them dependent on caregivers for community ambulation, thus deteriorating their quality of life. Conventional balance training involves rehabilitation exercises performed under physiotherapist’s supervision where the scarcity of trained professionals as well as the cost of clinic-based rehabilitation programs can deter stroke survivors from undergoing regular balance training. Thus, researchers have been exploring technology-assisted solutions, e.g. home-based Virtual Reality (VR) setup. In this study, we developed a VBaT (VR-based Balance Training) platform where VR-augmented user-interface using Nintendo Wii Balance Board was tested in a laboratory setting for its feasibility. The VBaT offered tasks of varying difficulties to the participants that adapted to individual performance capability during balance training. We performed a preliminary usability study with 7 stroke survivors (post-stroke period>6 months). Preliminary results indicate the potential of the VBaT system to cause improvement in overall average task performance over the course of training while using the VBaT. Thus the VBaT system is proposed to be a step towards an effective balance training platform for people with balance disorder.