Balance analysis system with a sensorized wobbleboard and an exergame

Abstract

The aim of this work was to develop a sensorized wobbleboard capable of changing its type of instability and quantifying the body stability through a dashboard and an exergame. The device was assembled using a wooden disc with load cells attached to it. At the bottom of the disc, three pieces of instability can be attached. In this study, two software applications were developed. The first, was a Dashboard capable of displaying the center of pressure (CoP) path. The other was a WobbleBall game whose goal is to keep the avatar inside a scoring ring whose radius is constantly reduced. To validate this study, two tests were performed, CoP and Volunteers tests. In the CoP test, a set of weights was placed in different positions on the device, and the CoP position calculated by the Dashboard was recorded. In the volunteers test, the balance was compared before and after a session of the WobbleBall game, using all three of the instability pieces developed. The CoP test results showed that the device can point the CoP position within the acceptable error. The result of the test with volunteers showed that there was no significant difference in balance before and after the game session. Additionally, participants achieved better results when playing the game under isolated anteroposterior and lateral instability, while poorer results were observed when playing without instability and with instability in both axes simultaneously. The developed device met the objectives of the study, being able to monitor the balance in different difficulties. However, a longer period of volunteer testing is required to determine the effect of the device on long-term balance.