A Low-Cost Point-of-Care Testing System for Psychomotor Symptoms of Depression Affecting Standing Balance: A Preliminary Study in India

Abstract

The World Health Organization estimated that major depression is the fourth most significant cause of disability worldwide for people aged 65 and older, where depressed older adults reported decreased independence, poor health, poor quality of life, functional decline, disability, and increased chronic medical problems. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to develop a low-cost point-of-care testing system for psychomotor symptoms of depression and (2) to evaluate the system in community dwelling elderly in India. The preliminary results from the cross-sectional study showed a significant negative linear correlation between balance and depression. Here, monitoring quantitative electroencephalography along with the center of pressure for cued response time during functional reach tasks may provide insights into the psychomotor symptoms of depression where average slope of the Theta-Alpha power ratio versus average slope of baseline-normalized response time may be a candidate biomarker, which remains to be evaluated in our future clinical studies. Once validated, the biomarker can be used for monitoring the outcome of a comprehensive therapy program in conjunction with pharmacological interventions. Furthermore, the frequency of falls can be monitored with a mobile phone-based application where the propensity of falls during the periods of psychomotor symptoms of depression can be investigated further.

Deep Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Dentate Nucleus to Facilitate Standing Balance in Chronic Stroke Survivors—A Pilot Study

“…However, marker-based systems (e.g., VICON, UK) are too expensive for monitoring in a community setting not only in developing countries but also in developed countries including the USA. Therefore, we developed marker-less time-of-flight systems [16,26,63,64], including the low-cost (<$150) Microsoft Kinect sensor (developed for video gaming), that are increasingly used for motion capture due to its lower costs [65]. Also, postural sway based on the center of pressure (CoP) is important for balance assessment; and the Wii Balance Board (WiiBB) has demonstrated good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.66-0.94) and construct validity when benchmarked against laboratory-grade force platforms (ICC = 0.77-0.89) [66].…”

The national institute of health toolbox

“…[53] There are other tests like the Indian Smell Identification test, which has been tried using commonly available odorants, making it cheap, convenient, and acceptable. The latter has been usefully tested in idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients.…”

“…In India a low cost testing system for standing balance has been used for assessment of psychomotor symptoms using a Wii Balance Board using variety of loads at different places and load sensors at legs to measure weight, all interfaced with computers and using Bluetooth, that can be adapted into Indian toolbox. [ 53 ] There are other tests like the Indian Smell Identification test, which has been tried using commonly available odorants, making it cheap, convenient, and acceptable. The latter has been usefully tested in idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients.…”

Brain–computer interface for individuals after spinal cord injury.

“…BCI can be coupled with virtual reality (VR), which is appealing given the more recent development of promising VR paradigms for neuropathic pain and phantom limb pain (Alphonso et al, 2012; Murray, 2009). Studies using BCI for emotional recognition (e.g., participant electroencephalography [EEG] patterns for emotionally laden audiovisual stimuli) and psychological intervention highlight the potential for BCI to optimize psychological adjustment following injury (Dutta et al, 2013; Jatupaiboon, Pan-ngum, & Israsena, 2013). Theoretically, BCI may add an increased perception of control during pain modifying interventions.…”