REALITY BASED MULTISYSTEM BALANCE ASSESSMENT IN THE AGED

该项目解决了对敏感和预测性措施的需求 可以识别有跌倒风险的老年人，从而防止 毁灭性伤害造成的一些人类和社会代价。动态 平衡评估方法将与虚拟现实相结合 产生一种创新的技术来评估平衡性 模拟真实世界环境。目前的技术只能复制 简单的环境条件，与具有挑战性的情况相去甚远 在日常生活中遇到的。在第一阶段，三维模拟 老年人经历不稳定的环境情况 将会被开发出来。青少年和青少年的姿势反应和知觉 老年正常受试者将接受测试。这一方法的可行性 将通过比较健康老年人和老年人的反应来进行评估 有跌倒的倾向。在第二阶段，交互式虚拟现实 有适当数量平衡评估的“环境”将是 已创建。一个长期目标是充分实现虚拟- 现实技术，正在发展功能相关的平衡测试 以心理物理学和临床电学为基础的技术 生理学方法。通过使系统用户友好和编目 量化信息以及其他健康状况衡量标准， 可以识别新出现的异常情况，将重点从 从诊断到预防。

This project addresses the need for sensitive and predictive measures that can identify elderly persons at risk for falling, thereby preventing some of the human and societal costs of devastating injuries. Dynamic balance assessment methods will be combined with virtual-reality techniques to produce an innovative technology for evaluating balance in simulated real-world environments. Present techniques reproduce only simple environment conditions, a far cry from the challenging situations encountered in daily life. In Phase I, three-dimensional simulations of environmental situations in which the elderly experience instability will be developed. Postural responses and perceptions of young and elderly normal subjects will be tested. Feasibility of this approach will be evaluated by comparing responses of healthy elderly and elderly with a propensity to fall. In Phase II, interactive virtual-reality 'environments' with appropriate quantitative balance assessments will be created. A long-term goal is to fully realize the potential of virtual- reality technology, be developing functionally relevant balance testing techniques soundly based on psychophysics and clinical electro- physiological methods. By making the system user-friendly and cataloging quantitative information along with other health status measures, emerging abnormalities could be identified, shifting the emphasis from diagnosis to prevention.