MOTI for measuring balance

The R&D team just returned back from the lab where they were investigating whether MOTI could be used to measure balance. In the session, they evaluated the postural sway during two tasks, standing with the feet together with the eyes open and then the same with the eyes closed. What they wanted to investigate was whether the postural sway could be measured with MOTI when compared with an advanced balance platform (force plate). The results are very promising to say the least.

The figures below demonstrate how the subject applied forces in the force platform (commonly named as ground reaction force in research) to maintain balance (figures 1 & 2) and body acceleration measured simultaneously with MOTI (figures 3 & 4). In research, both forces and body accelerations are used as proxy for balance performance. What is interesting to note is that when the eyes are closed, the postural sway increases, indicating a poorer balance performance compared with open eyes. Th