Development of a Vibrotactile Balance Prosthesis

Feasibility of a vibrotactile prosthesis to aid balance.

Part One: Basic Physiology
A pilot can fly a plane 'blind folded' using only tactile cues delivered to the upper torso to indicate spatial orientation (Rupert, 2000). Recently, Wall et al. (2003) used the similar devices to show that maintaining an upright posture without perturbation or during a SOT test could be improved by giving a vibrotactile feedback of body tilt to the trunk. Our purpose is to determine whether vibro-tactile feedback can be used to assist balance during a realistic challenge when the subject has to adjust his base of support. Basic physiological investigations have already been performed to identify which part of the body (head or trunk) gives rise to the fastest balance response when vibrated and which part of the body (leg,hip or shoulder) gives the best signal of perturbation from which vibration can be triggered.

Part Two: does a vibrotactile cue to postural threat speed up a balance response?
Following the basic physiological investigations described in Part One, we tested whether a vibration (perhaps acting as a trigger) could speed up the postural reaction to a substantial perturbation of balance.

References

Rupert, A. H. (2000). An instrumentation solution for reducing spatial disorientation mishaps. Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, IEEE 19(2): 71-80.

Wall, C.,III; Weinberg, M.S (2003). Balance Prostheses for Postural Control. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, 22 (2): 84-90.