Validity of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board for the Assessment of Balance Measures in the Functional Reach Test

Abstract

The functional reach test (FRT) is widely used for assessing dynamic balance stability in elderly and pathological subjects. Force platforms (FPs) represent a fundamental part of the instrumented FRT experimental setup due to the central role of center-of-pressure (COP) displacement in FRT analysis. Recently, the nintendo wii balance board (NBB) has been suggested as a low-cost and reliable device for ground reaction force and COP measurement in poorly dynamic motor tasks. Therefore, this paper aimed to compare NBB-COP data with those obtained from a laboratory-grade platform during FRT. Data from 48 healthy subjects were simultaneously acquired from both devices. FP-COP and NBB-COP trajectories showed a remarkable correlation in both directions ( ) and low root-mean-square error values (1.14 ± 0.88 mm and 0.55 ± 0.28 mm for anterior-posterior and medial-lateral direction). Fixed biases between COP-based parameters did not exceed 2% of the FP outcomes with high consistency throughout the present measurement range (ICC consistency always >0.950). Only the COP mean velocity exhibited a tendency toward proportional errors, which can be adjusted by a calibration of NBB data. Findings of this paper confirmed the NBB validity for COP measurement in a widely used motor task as the functional reach, supporting the feasibility of NBB in research scenarios.

Validity and Reliability of Dynamic and Functional Balance Tests in People Aged 19-54: A Systematic Review

“… 11,13–16 The Nintendo Wii Balance Board (NBB) was utilized in two studies, both of which demonstrated its suitability for assessing dynamic balance. 15,16 Mengarelli et al 15 found a high correlation between the NBB and an instrumented dynamic force platform (Bertec 4060H, 60x40 cm) in both the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions (r > 0.990). The root-mean-square error values for center of pressure displacements were 1.14 ± 0.88 mm and 0.55 ± 0.28 mm in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, respectively.…”

“…Mengarelli et al 15 also used the functional reach test to establish the validity of the NBB for assessing dynamic balance. The validity of the NBB was evaluated by comparing it to a laboratory-grade force plate.…”

Measurement of Results of Functional Reach Test with Sensors: A Systematic Review

“…The authors of [29] performed tests related to the Functional Reach Test with people with non-mentioned diseases with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board for the measurement of the center-of-pressure path deviation. It was used to recognize three activities, such as reaching down, reaching up, and walking, and five types of fall, such as backward-fall, left-fall, right-fall, forward-fall, and non-fall.…”

Influência do uso do Wii Fit sobre o equilíbrio estático e a marcha na doença de Parkinson

“…Os jogos descritos visam aos ajustes posturais anteroposteriores e látero-laterais e coordenação de membros inferiores, assim como controle de equilíbrio e coordenação, os quais influenciam diretamente no desempenho da marcha. 12,13 Os dados obtidos foram analisados descritivamente, pelo programa Excell ® 2010.…”