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Restoring Balance: Replacing the Vestibular Sense with Wearable Vibrotactile Feedback
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Author(s): Maria Júlia S. Benini (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands), Marijn Bruinink (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands), Atike D. Pekel (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands), Walter A. Talbott (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands), Albertine Visser (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands)and Panos Markopoulos (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands)
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 19
Source title:
Smart Healthcare Applications and Services: Developments and Practices
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Carsten Röcker (RWTH Aachen University, Germany)and Martina Ziefle (RWTH Aachen University, Germany)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-180-5.ch013
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Abstract
Bilateral vestibular loss (BVL) is a disorder of the balance sensory organs in the inner ear; it can cause falls which may have grave consequences, particularly among elderly. This chapter presents the iterative user-centered design of a vibrotactile feedback mechanism for substituting the balance sense. Six wearable prototypes were created to compare the suitability of different body parts (foot, ankle, knee, waist, shoulder, upper arm) for perceiving this type of feedback and to compare different encoding mechanisms (number, intensity, and rhythm of vibrations). In a second iteration, two of these wearable devices (for the ankle and the waist), in two feedback encoding mechanisms (directional and non-directional) were improved and evaluated. Based on the combined studies and interviews conducted with patients and specialists, it is argued that vibrotactile non-directional balance feedback should be applied to ankles, and that such devices should be integrated in training systems.
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