EFFECT OF BALANCE TRAINING BY A DEVICE DEVELOPING FROM PASSIVE INFRARED SENSOR IN STROKE PATIENTS

Abstract

Background: After an individual suffers a stroke, intrinsic feedback systems may be destroyed and resulted in difficulty to adjust postural control and balance. Therefore, providing extrinsic feedback may help stroke patients to relearn how to effectively adjust their movements. This study aimed to develop a balance training device with auditory feedback from passive infrared sensors and investigated the effects of training using the developed device on balance performance in subacute strokes. Methods: Twenty four subacute stroke patients aged forty-five to sixty-five years with asymmetrical weight bearing on the affected leg in standing < 40% of body weight were recruited. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental (n=12) or the control (n=12) groups. The experimental group received a conventional rehabilitation program of thirty minutes and balance training using a developed balance training device with auditory feedback from a passive infrared sensor for thirty minutes. The control group received only a conventional rehabilitation program for one hour per session. Both groups were enrolled in their training for five sessions per week for four weeks. The balance performances of all patients were assessed using the Berg balance scale (BBS), a functional reach test (FRT), timed up and go test (TUG), and a percentage of weight bearing on the affected leg (%BW) before and after four weeks of training. Results: After training, BBS, FRT, TUG and %BW were significantly improved in comparison to the baseline for the experimental group (p<0.05), while the control group only demonstrated a tendency for BBS improvement. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated significantly better improvements in BBS, TUG and %BW than the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The balance training program by using balance training devices developed from PIR sensors combined with conventional rehabilitation program can improve the balance performance of subacute stroke patients more effectively than conventional rehabilitation.

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