METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR ASSESING THE QUALITY OF BALANCE

• US 20160007902A1
• Filed: 10/21/2011
• Published: 01/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universite de Technologie de Troyes
• Original Assignee: Universite de Technologie de Troyes
• Inventors: HEWSON, David James, DUCHENE, Jacques, SNOUSSI, Hichem, HOGREL, Jean-Yves, LANGERON, Yves
• Granted Patent: US 10,791,980 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1036 Measuring load distribution, e.g. podologic studies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1123 Discriminating type of movement, e.g. walking or running A61B5/1116, A61B5/112 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4023 Evaluating sense of balance
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/44 for weighing persons
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/3742 using a mobile telephone network

Abstract

A method, device, and system for assessing the quality of balance, the device comprising a plate for receiving the feet of a subject and mounted on a plurality of pressure sensors measuring vertical forces applied to the plate, wherein the method comprises the following steps: measuring, by the pressure sensors thereof, vertical forces applied to the plate, at least before and while the subject mounts the device; calculating, according to the measured values, parameters that are relevant for the assessment, including at least one parameter relating to at least one slowdown in the rise of the values measured by the pressure sensors thereof when the subject mounts the device.

Claims

1. A method for assessing the balance of a subject, comprising at least one device including a plate (13) for receiving the feet of the subject and mounted on a plurality of pressure sensors (10) measuring vertical forces applied on the plate (13) when the subject mounts the device, and the method comprising:

measuring (51), with the pressure sensors (10), vertical forces applied on the plate (13) at least when the subject mounts the device (1), and

calculating (53) from these measured values, relevant parameters for the assessment, comprising at least one parameter relative to at least one slowdown in the rise of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) when the subject mounts the device (1).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step (53) for calculating the parameters relating to at least one slowdown, relates to at least one sigmoid (S) and/or at least one peak (P) in the rise of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10), when the subject mounts the device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment includes a step (530), for calculating the sum of the values measured by each of the pressure sensors (10).

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a broadcasting step (50), through broadcasting means (12), for information relative to at least one invitation of the subject to mount the device (1), the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment including a step (531) for calculating at least one parameter relating to the elapsed delay (DAM) between the invitation to mount and the subject mounting the device (1).

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment includes a step (532) for calculating at least one parameter relating to the rise rate (V) of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) when the subject mounts the device (1).

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment is proceeded with a step for calculating (52d) a rising phase (PM) of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10), when the subject mounts the device (1), this rising phase (PM) being determined as the period during which said values are located between 10% and 90% of a reference value attained once the subject has mounted the device (1), at least one portion of said calculated parameters corresponding to values calculated from this rising phase (PM).

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment is preceded with a step for calculating (52s) a so-called stability phase (PS), of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10), when the subject has mounted the device (1), this stability phase (PS) being determined as the period starting at a determined delay (DO), a so-called waiting delay, after said measured values have attained 90% of the reference value and ending with a determined, so-called stability delay (DS), after said waiting delay (DO), the step for calculating (53) the relevant parameters for the assessment comprising at least one step for calculating (533) parameters relating to the stability phase (PS).

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step for calculating (533) the parameters relating to the stability phase (PS) includes a step for calculating (5300) the centroid of the vertical forces measured by each of the pressure sensors (10) for determining the position of the pressure center (CoP) corresponding to the projection of the center of gravity of the subject onto the plate (13).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step for calculating (5300) the position of the pressure center (CoP) over time, during the stability phase (PS), provides a stabilogram allowing the application of a modal decomposition step (5301) for extracting therefrom intrinsic modal functions, the parameters relating to this stability phase (PS) comprising at least one determined parameter on these intrinsic modal functions.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one step for transmitting (54) the measured values and/or the calculated parameters, through communication means (113) of the device (1), to at least one communicating terminal (2) and/or to at least one centralization server (3), via at least one communications network (RC).

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one step for storing (55) the measured values and/or the calculated parameters in memory storage means (112, 212, 312).

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising at least one calculation step (56) for comparing the measured values and/or the calculated parameters, stored in the memory storage means (112, 212, 312), for at least two determined assessments of a same subject, in order to allow tracking of the time-dependent change in the quality of the balance.

13. A device (1) for assessing the balance of a subject, further comprising a plate (13) intended for receiving the feet of a subject and mounted on a plurality of pressure sensors (10) measuring vertical forces applied on the plate (13), and data processing means (11) laid out for performing the method according to claim 1.

14. The device (1) according to claim 13, wherein the plate (13) has dimensions adapted to the average size of feet of subjects, so as to get rid of problems related to the position of the feet of the subjects on the plate during measurements.

15. The device (1) according to claim 1, further comprising display means (12) positioned on the device (1) so that a subject standing on the plate (13) may see the display, so that the posture of the subjects using the device (1) is standardized.

16. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the data processing means (11) comprise memory storage means (112) for applying the step for storing (55) the measured values and/or the calculated parameters.

17. A system for assessing the balance of a subject, comprising at least one device (1) according to claim 13, at least one centralization server (3) and at least one communicating terminal (2) comprising communication means (213) laid out for receiving the measured values and/or the calculated parameters by the device (1) and for transmitting the received data to the centralization server (3).

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the data processing means (31) of the centralization server (3) are laid out for performing at least one of the calculation steps (52d, 52s, 53, 56) of the method according to claim 1.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein the communicating terminal (2) includes data processing means (21) laid out for performing at least one of the calculation steps (52d, 52s, 53, 56) of the method according to claim 1.

18. A system for assessing the balance of a subject, comprising a device (1) comprising a plate (13) intended for receiving the feet of a subject and mounted on a plurality of pressure sensors (10) measuring vertical forces applied on the plate (13) and data processing means (11) dynamically collecting the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) at least before and while the subject mounts the device (1) and comprising data communication means (113) laid out for transmitting the measured values to at least one communicating terminal (2) comprising communication means (213) laid out for receiving the values measured by the device (1) and transmitting them to at least one centralization server (3), the data processing means (31) of which are laid out for calculating from these values, parameters comprising at least one parameter relative to at least one slowdown in the rise of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) when the subject mounts the device (1).

20. A system for assessing the balance of a subject, comprising a device (1) for assessing the balance of a subject, including a plate (13) intended for receiving the feet of a subject and mounted on a plurality of pressure sensors (10) measuring vertical forces applied on the plate (13), and data processing means (11) dynamically collecting the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) at least before and while the subject mounts the device (1) and comprising data communication means (113) laid out for transmitting the measured values to at least one communicating terminal (2) comprising communication means (213) laid out for receiving the values measured by the device (1) and data processing means (21) are laid out for calculating, from these values, parameters comprising at least one parameter relative to at least one slowdown in the rise of the values measured by the pressure sensors (10) when the subject mounts the device (1), the communication means (213) of this communicating terminal (2) being also laid out for transmitting the measured values and/or the calculated parameters to at least one centralization server (3).