Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Hum Factors. 2019 Dec;61(8):1340-1352. doi: 10.1177/0018720819835088. Epub 2019 Mar 27.
To investigate whether shifts in head position, measured via an Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD), is a valid measure of whole-body postural stability.
The inverted single-link pendulum model of balance suggests shifts in whole-body center of mass can be estimated from individual body segments. However, whether head position describes postural stability such as center-of-pressure (COP) remains unclear.
Participants ( = 10) performed six conditions while wearing an HMD and performing a previously validated virtual reality (VR)-based balance assessment. COP was recorded with a Wii Balance Board force plate (WBB), while an HMD recorded linear and angular head displacement. Visual input was presented in the HMD (stable scene, dark scene, or dynamic scene) and somatosensory information (with or without foam) was varied across each condition. The HMD time series data were compared with the criterion-measure WBB.
Significant correlations were found between COP measures (standard deviation, range, sway area, velocity) and head-centered angular and linear displacements (roll, pitch, mediolateral and anteroposterior directions).
The Oculus Rift HMD shows promise as a measure of postural stability without additional posturography equipment. These findings support the application of VR HMD technology for assessment of postural stability across a variety of challenging conditions.
The human factors and ergonomic benefit of such an approach is in its portability, low cost, and widespread availability for clinic and home-based investigation of postural disturbances. Fall injury affects millions of people annually, so assessment of fall risk and treatment of the underlying causes has enormous public health benefit.
研究通过 Oculus Rift 头戴式显示器（HMD）测量的头部位置变化是否是全身姿势稳定性的有效衡量标准。
平衡的倒立单摆模型表明，整个身体质心的位移可以从单个身体部位估计。然而，头部位置是否描述了姿势稳定性，如中心压力（COP），尚不清楚。
参与者（n=10）在佩戴 HMD 并进行先前验证的基于虚拟现实（VR）的平衡评估时进行了六种情况。使用 Wii Balance Board 力板（WBB）记录 COP，同时 HMD 记录线性和角度头部位移。视觉输入在 HMD 中呈现（稳定场景、黑暗场景或动态场景），而体感信息（有或没有泡沫）在每个条件下变化。HMD 时间序列数据与标准测量 WBB 进行比较。
在 COP 测量值（标准差、范围、摇摆面积、速度）和以头部为中心的角度和线性位移（滚动、俯仰、左右和前后方向）之间发现了显著相关性。
Oculus Rift HMD 有望成为一种无需额外的姿势描记术设备的姿势稳定性衡量标准。这些发现支持 VR HMD 技术在各种挑战性条件下评估姿势稳定性的应用。
这种方法的人体工程学和应用的优点在于其便携性、低成本和广泛的可用性，可用于诊所和家庭进行姿势障碍的研究。每年有数百万人因跌倒受伤，因此评估跌倒风险和治疗潜在原因具有巨大的公共卫生效益。
