Gait perturbation system and a method for testing and/or training a subject using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9763604-B1
Application number	US-201715488472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 15, 2017
Priority date	Apr 9, 2016
Publication date	Sep 19, 2017
Grant date	Sep 19, 2017

Abstract

A balance and/or gait perturbation system is disclosed herein. The balance and/or gait perturbation system includes a balance and/or gait perturbation device and a data processing device. The balance and/or gait perturbation device includes one or more displaceable components configured to be displaced at a plurality of different positions, and having one or more surfaces for receiving one or more respective limbs of the person; and one or more first actuators coupled to the one or more displaceable components to adjust the displacement position of the one or more displaceable components. The data processing device is configured to generate a stochastic signal for introducing a perturbation to the one or more displaceable components, and to control the displacement position of the one or more displaceable components using the stochastic signal such that the one or more displaceable components perturb a balance and/or gait of the person.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A balance and/or gait perturbation system comprising, in combination:
a balance and/or gait perturbation device configured to receive a person thereon, the balance and/or gait perturbation device including:
one or more displaceable components configured to be displaced at a plurality of different positions, the one or more displaceable components having one or more surfaces for receiving one or more respective limbs of the person; and
one or more first actuators coupled to the one or more displaceable components, the one or more first actuators configured to adjust the displacement position of the one or more displaceable components, the one or more first actuators being primary means for displacing the one or more displaceable components; and

a data processing device operatively coupled to the one or more first actuators, the data processing device configured to generate a stochastic signal for introducing a perturbation to the one or more displaceable components, the data processing device further configured to control the displacement position of the one or more displaceable components using the stochastic signal such that the one or more displaceable components perturb a balance and/or gait of the person.

2. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 1 , wherein the balance and/or gait perturbation device comprises a force measurement assembly, and the one or more displaceable components comprise a displaceable force plate subassembly of the force measurement assembly; and
wherein the one or more first actuators are configured to adjust the displacement position of the displaceable force plate subassembly.

3. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 2 , wherein the displaceable force plate subassembly includes at least one force transducer, the at least one force transducer configured to sense one or more measured quantities and output one or more measurement signals that are representative of one or more loads being applied to the one or more surfaces of the displaceable force plate subassembly by the person.

4. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 2 , wherein the balance and/or gait perturbation device further comprises a base assembly having a stationary portion and a displaceable portion, the displaceable force plate subassembly forming a part of the displaceable portion of the base assembly, the one or more first actuators configured to rotate the displaceable force plate subassembly relative to the stationary portion of the base assembly about a transverse rotational axis disposed above the top surface of the displaceable force plate subassembly.

5. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 1 , wherein the stochastic signal comprises one of: (i) a uniform stochastic signal and (ii) a normal stochastic signal.

6. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one input device, the at least one input device configured to enable a user to input a perturbation level corresponding to at least of: (i) an amplitude of the stochastic signal, and (ii) a frequency of the stochastic signal; and
wherein the data processing device is configured to generate the stochastic signal based upon at least one of: (i) the amplitude of the stochastic signal, and (ii) the frequency of the stochastic signal.

7. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 6 , wherein the stochastic signal comprises a uniform stochastic signal, the data processing device configured to compute the uniform stochastic signal as a function of a randomly generated uniform signal and the perturbation level input by the user.

8. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 6 , wherein the stochastic signal comprises a normal stochastic signal, the data processing device configured to compute the normal stochastic signal as a function of a normalized randomly generated uniform signal and the perturbation level input by the user.

9. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 1 , further comprising secondary means for displacing the one or more displaceable components of the balance and/or gait perturbation device in accordance with a secondary type of displacement that is different from a primary type of displacement of the one or more displaceable components by the one or more first actuators, the secondary means for displacing the one or more displaceable components of the balance and/or gait perturbation device being operatively coupled to the data processing device; and
wherein the data processing device is configured to generate a translational perturbation signal and to output the translational perturbation signal to the secondary means for displacing the one or more displaceable components of the balance and/or gait perturbation device so that the one or more displaceable components of the balance and/or gait perturbation device are displaced in accordance with a translational displacement profile.

10. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 9 , wherein the secondary means for displacing the one or more displaceable components of the balance and/or gait perturbation device comprise one or more second actuators operatively coupled to the one or more displaceable components.

11. A balance and/or gait perturbation system comprising, in combination:
a balance and/or gait perturbation device configured to receive a person thereon, the balance and/or gait perturbation device including:
one or more displaceable components configured to be displaced at a plurality of different positions, the one or more displaceable components having one or more surfaces for receiving one or more respective limbs of the person;
one or more first actuators coupled to the one or more displaceable components, the one or more first actuators configured to adjust the angular displacement position of the one or more displaceable components; and
one or more second actuators coupled to the one or more displaceable components, the one or more second actuators configured to adjust the translational displacement position of the one or more displaceable components; and

a data processing device operatively coupled to the one or more first actuators and the one or more second actuators, the data processing device configured to generate a first perturbation signal for introducing a first type of perturbation to the one or more displaceable components and a second perturbation signal for introducing a second type of perturbation to the one or more displaceable components, the data processing device further configured to control the angular displacement position of the one or more displaceable components using the first perturbation signal and the translational displacement position of the one or more displaceable components using the second perturbation signal such that the one or more displaceable components perturb a balance and/or gait of the person.

12. The balance and/or gait perturbation system according to claim 11 , wherein the balance and/or gait perturbation device comprises a force measurement assembly, and the one or more displaceable components comprise a displaceable force plate subassembly of the force measurement assembly; and
wherein the one or more first actuators are configured to adjust the angular displacement position of the displaceable force plate subassembly; and
wherein the one or more second actuators are configured to adjust the translational displacement position of the displaceable force plate subassembly.

13. The balance and/or gait perturbation system accor

Assignees

• Bertec Corp

Inventors

• Berme Necip
• Pitale Jaswandi Tushar
• Barnes Scott Zerkle
• Wang Qian

Classifications

• A63B26/003

  for improving balance or equilibrium (balance beams A63B4/00; apparatus for rope dancing A63B7/08; balancing drums, balancing boards or the like A63B22/16) · CPC title

• A61B5/112 Primary

  Gait analysis · CPC title

• A63B69/0062

  Leg restraining devices · CPC title

• A63B69/0053

  Apparatus generating random stimulus signals for reaction-time training involving a substantial physical effort · CPC title

• A63B22/0292

  separate for each leg, e.g. dual deck · CPC title