An exergame system based on force platforms and body key-point detection for balance training.

Postural instability affects a large number of people and can compromise even simple activities of the daily routine. Therapies for balance training can strongly benefit from auxiliary devices specially designed for this purpose. In this paper, we present a system for balance training that uses the metaphor of a game, what contributes to the motivation and engagement of the patients during a treatment. Such approach is usually named exergame, in which input devices for posturographic assessment and a visual output perform the interaction with the subject. The proposed system uses two force platforms, one positioned under the feet and the other under the hip of the subject. The force platforms employ regular load cells and a microcontroller-based signal acquisition module to capture and transmit the samples to a computer. Moreover, a computer vision module performs body key-point detection, based on real time segmentation of markers attached to the subject. For the validation of the system, we conducted experiments with 20 neurologically intact volunteers during two tests: comparison of the stabilometric parameters obtained from the system with those obtained from a commercial baropodometer and the practice of several exergames. Results show that the proposed system is completely functional and can be used as a versatile tool for balance training.

Biofeedback baropodometry training evaluation: a study with children with equinus foot deformity.

The lack of perception in the hindfoot increases the plantar flexion, causing irregular posture due to the foot position, a disability known as equinus foot deformity. A portable device, named baropodometer, that measures the pressure at the forefoot and hindfoot regions was built to help this population in terms of balance and posture correction. Ten hemiparetic teenager volunteers with equinus foot participated in the experiments. The results demonstrated that the proposed device increased the weight-bearing in upright stance in the paretic side, decreasing the weight in the non-paretic side. After 10 experimental sessions, performed along 6 months, the distribution of the pressure in the lower limbs was very similar. The baropodometer facilitates the rehabilitation, by biofeedbacking the pressure of the calcaneus, using the volunteer's audiovisual system. The rehabilitation using the proposed device was able to recover the balance by posture correction, facilitating future gait training of these volunteers.