Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Camilo Giraldo

Project Type

Honors Program project

Scholarship Domain(s)

Scholarship of Discovery

Presentation Type

Presentation

Abstract

Falls are a prevalent problem within elderly populations. Falls also increase the cost of healthcare, since they cause severe injuries frequently and negatively affect quality of life. Lack of postural stability is the consequence of falls, and postural stability is defined as the correct biomechanical execution based on sensory feedback. The types of sensory feedback are vision, vestibular (ear), proprioceptive (body awareness), and somatosensory (sensation of the environment). This study focuses on the lack of postural stability in quiet standing due to somatosensory and vision deficiencies. To track these deficiencies, 51 subjects stood for 60 seconds on two force plates, and their center of pressure (COP) time series were extracted. All subjects completed 3 trials with either eyes closed or open while standing on 5 foam thicknesses (0”, 1/8”, 1/4”, 1/2”, and 1”). The different levels of foam simulated various levels of somatosensory deficiencies at the feet, which is a common symptom in people with high risk of falling (e.g., diabetic populations). To quantify these somatosensory deficiencies, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is to be performed on all COP time series. DFA is one nonlinear measure used in human biomechanics that describes the quality of human motion rather than the quantity of human motion. It is hypothesized that DFA on COP time series can track deficiencies in the somatosensory and vision feedbacks. While this study does not cover real somatosensory deficiencies, it could offer a validated measure to future studies comprised of participants who suffer from peripheral neuropathy (e.g., diabetic populations).

Permission Type

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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Apr 7th, 7:40 PM Apr 7th, 8:00 PM

Tracking Simulated Somatosensory Deficiencies that Affect Postural Stability through Detrended Fluctuation Analysis

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Falls are a prevalent problem within elderly populations. Falls also increase the cost of healthcare, since they cause severe injuries frequently and negatively affect quality of life. Lack of postural stability is the consequence of falls, and postural stability is defined as the correct biomechanical execution based on sensory feedback. The types of sensory feedback are vision, vestibular (ear), proprioceptive (body awareness), and somatosensory (sensation of the environment). This study focuses on the lack of postural stability in quiet standing due to somatosensory and vision deficiencies. To track these deficiencies, 51 subjects stood for 60 seconds on two force plates, and their center of pressure (COP) time series were extracted. All subjects completed 3 trials with either eyes closed or open while standing on 5 foam thicknesses (0”, 1/8”, 1/4”, 1/2”, and 1”). The different levels of foam simulated various levels of somatosensory deficiencies at the feet, which is a common symptom in people with high risk of falling (e.g., diabetic populations). To quantify these somatosensory deficiencies, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) is to be performed on all COP time series. DFA is one nonlinear measure used in human biomechanics that describes the quality of human motion rather than the quantity of human motion. It is hypothesized that DFA on COP time series can track deficiencies in the somatosensory and vision feedbacks. While this study does not cover real somatosensory deficiencies, it could offer a validated measure to future studies comprised of participants who suffer from peripheral neuropathy (e.g., diabetic populations).