The design and development of a production prototype balance belt

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a balance device from lab to clinic/home use. An emerging practice among physical therapists in balance training and falls prevention addresses a major health problem in the United States: imbalance and its consequences. The annual cost for treating balance disorders exceeds $1 billion, not including the cost to treat falls. We aim to develop a non-invasive device worn around the waist. It detects when a person is tipping too far in any direction and vibrates on that side, signaling the wearer to stay within their limits of stability. Because this new technology gets a patient to a higher level of function in a shorter number of trials, it offers an opportunity to advance rehabilitation by enabling more effective outcomes for the same number of treatment sessions.

Alleviating freezing of gait using phase-dependent tactile biofeedback

“…They have a diameter of 1.17″ and a thickness of 0.30″. They have been used in a variety of applications in the past, and they have similar characteristics to the ones used for similar studies [11–13]. For this application, the tactor was applied to wrist.…”