Low cost adaptive balance training platform for stroke patients

Stroke patients usually suffer from asymmetric posture due to hemi-paresis that can result in reduced postural controllability leading to balance deficit. This balance deficit increases the risk of falling, thereby making them dependent on caregivers for community ambulation and hence 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 in specialized health centers can de-motivate stroke survivors in following regular balance training. Thus, researchers have been exploring technology-assisted solutions, e.g. augmented Virtual Reality (VR) that can be a potent home based exercise platform. In our present research, we developed VBaT (Virtual reality based Balance Training platform) where VR-based user interface augmented with Nintendo Wii Balance Board was tested for its feasibility in improving stroke survivors’ static balance. The VBaT offered different tasks of varying difficulty in an adaptive and individualized manner based on individual’s performance capability during VR-based balance training. First of all, we carried out a pilot study with 4 stroke survivors to understand the implication of VR-based system on the performance of the individuals with balance disorders. Later we performed a usability study designed as a proof-of-concept application of the VBaT system in which 7 pairs of stroke survivors (>6 months) and age-matched healthy controls participated for one day each. We also monitored the surface electromyogram (sEMG) from lower limb muscle for offline analysis. The preliminary results indicate the potential of VBaT system to cause improvement in overall average task performance score from 43.43% in first attempt to 69.36% in last attempt for stroke group. Thus, the VBaT system holds promise as a potent balance training platform for people with balance disorder.