Multidirectional Overground Robotic Training Leads to Improvements in Balance in Older Adults
Lara A. Thompson,
Mehdi Badache,
Joao Augusto Renno Brusamolin,
Marzieh Savadkoohi,
Jelani Guise,
Gabriel Velluto de Paiva,
Pius Suh,
Pablo Sanchez Guerrero,
Devdas Shetty
Affiliations
Lara A. Thompson
Biomedical Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Mehdi Badache
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Joao Augusto Renno Brusamolin
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Marzieh Savadkoohi
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Jelani Guise
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Gabriel Velluto de Paiva
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Pius Suh
Biomedical Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Pablo Sanchez Guerrero
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
Devdas Shetty
Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008, USA
For the rapidly growing aging demographic worldwide, robotic training methods could be impactful towards improving balance critical for everyday life. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that non-bodyweight supportive (nBWS) overground robotic balance training would lead to improvements in balance performance and balance confidence in older adults. Sixteen healthy older participants (69.7 ± 6.7 years old) were trained while donning a harness from a distinctive NaviGAITor robotic system. A control group of 11 healthy participants (68.7 ± 5.0 years old) underwent the same training but without the robotic system. Training included 6 weeks of standing and walking tasks while modifying: (1) sensory information (i.e., with and without vision (eyes-open/closed), with more and fewer support surface cues (hard or foam surfaces)) and (2) base-of-support (wide, tandem and single-leg standing exercises). Prior to and post-training, balance ability and balance confidence were assessed via the balance error scoring system (BESS) and the Activities specific Balance Confidence (ABC) scale, respectively. Encouragingly, results showed that balance ability improved (i.e., BESS errors significantly decreased), particularly in the nBWS group, across nearly all test conditions. This result serves as an indication that robotic training has an impact on improving balance for healthy aging individuals.
