Estimation of Human Standing Postural Sway with an Internal Measurement Unit Based on Mechanical Model

Abstract

For the safety of elderly people, it is necessary to assess their balance ability. To assess the balance ability, the stabilometry with a force plate, which measures the trajectory of Center of Pressure (CoP), has been used in clinical fields. Although the force plate can precisely measure the trajectory of CoP, it is expensive and bulky. To address this problem, the authors propose a method to estimate the trajectory of CoP using an internal measurement unit. In this study, the trajectory of CoP during human standing was estimated using the proposed method and the estimated trajectory of CoP was compared with the CoP measured by force plate. By comparing estimate the trajectory of CoP to measured CoP by a force plate, it was found that the trajectory of CoP estimated by the proposed method represents the features of the trajectories of CoP during human standings.