Department of Computer Science, Electrical and Space Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
Department of Health, Education and Technology, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
Biomed Eng Online. 2023 Aug 22;22(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s12938-023-01146-3.
Aging is associated with a decline in postural control and an increased risk of falls. The Center of Pressure (CoP) trajectory analysis is a commonly used method to assess balance. In this study, we proposed a new method to identify balance impairments in older adults by analyzing their CoP trajectory frequency components, sensory inputs, reaction time, motor functions, and Fall-related Concerns (FrC).
The study includes 45 older adults aged [Formula: see text] years who were assessed for sensory and motor functions. FrC and postural control in a quiet stance with open and closed eyes on stable and unstable surfaces. A Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) was used to detect features in frequency scales, followed by the K-means algorithm to detect different clusters. The multinomial logistic model was used to identify and predict the association of each group with the sensorimotor tests and FrC.
The study results showed that by DWT, three distinct groups of subjects could be revealed. Group 2 exhibited the broadest use of frequency scales, less decline in sensorimotor functions, and lowest FrC. The study also found that a decline in sensorimotor functions and fall-related concern may cause individuals to rely on either very low-frequency scales (group 1) or higher-frequency scales (group 3) and that those who use lower-frequency scales (group 1) can manage their balance more successfully than group 3.
Our study provides a new, cost-effective method for detecting balance impairments in older adults. This method can be used to identify people at risk and develop interventions and rehabilitation strategies to prevent falls in this population.
衰老与姿势控制能力下降和跌倒风险增加有关。中心压力（CoP）轨迹分析是评估平衡的常用方法。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种通过分析 CoP 轨迹频率成分、感觉输入、反应时间、运动功能和跌倒相关担忧（FrC）来识别老年人平衡障碍的新方法。
该研究包括 45 名年龄在 [Formula: see text] 岁的老年人，评估他们的感觉和运动功能。FrC 和闭眼睁眼在稳定和不稳定表面上的静态姿势控制。使用离散小波变换（DWT）检测频率尺度中的特征，然后使用 K-均值算法检测不同的簇。使用多项逻辑回归模型识别和预测每个组与感觉运动测试和 FrC 的关联。
研究结果表明，通过 DWT，可以揭示三组不同的受试者。组 2 表现出最广泛的频率尺度使用，感觉运动功能下降最小，FrC 最低。研究还发现，感觉运动功能下降和跌倒相关担忧可能导致个体依赖于非常低频率尺度（组 1）或更高频率尺度（组 3），并且使用低频率尺度（组 1）的个体可以比组 3 更成功地管理他们的平衡。
我们的研究为检测老年人的平衡障碍提供了一种新的、具有成本效益的方法。该方法可用于识别有风险的人群，并制定干预和康复策略，以预防该人群的跌倒。
