Modeling and assessment of human balance control
Staff members:
Dr.ir Herman van der Kooij
Drs. Edwin van Asseldonk
Prof. dr. Frans van der Helm
Background
In the control of balance three mayor groups of sensory information sources can be distinguished: the vestibular system, the visual system and the prorioceptive system. The quality of balance control relies on the ability to adaptively modify the relative weighting of each sensory modality depending on the environmental context. Whereas in healthy subjects there is redundant sensory information in order to maintain upright, in patients the absence or decrease of sensory information often results in an increase of falls.
Although the literature on balance control is very rich, it is quite fragmented in that the integration of a well-established theory of balance control into the interpretation and design of the experiment is lacking. The importance of such theoretical based approach is important in order to understand the factors determining balance control and to use this knowledge to develop good diagnostic tests.
Goal
The aim of our research is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of balance disorders by developing methods that are able to identify the different factors that determine balance control and, as such, to relate neuromuscular disorders (impairments) with balance disorders (disabilities). To this end, we develop models of balance control. With frequency domain identification techniques we aim to validate model assumptions, and estimate the model parameters. We developed methods that quantify the contribution of both legs in maintaining
balance. These novel method shows asymmetries in balance control in post-stroke patients and in above and below knee amputees,
Impression of our human performance virtual reality lab that we use to analyze and asses human balance.
Selection of publications
- Edwin H.F. van Asseldonk, Jaap H. Buurke, , Bastiaan R. Bloem, Gerbert J. Renzenbrink, , Anand V. Neneb, , Frans C.T. van der Helma, and Herman van der Kooij Disentangling the contribution of the paretic and non-paretic ankle to balance control in stroke patients Experimental Neurology Volume 201, Issue 2 , October 2006, Pages 441-451
- van der Kooij, H., R. Jacobs, et al. (1999).A multisensory integration model of human stance control. Biological Cybernetics 80: 299-308.
- van der Kooij, H., R. Jacobs, et al. (2001).An adaptive model of sensory integration in a dynamic environment applied to stance control. Biological Cybernetics 84: 103-115.
- van der Kooij, H., E. van Asseldonk, et al. (2005).Comparison of different methods to identify and quantify balance control. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 145(1-2): 175-203.
Movies
Collaboration
Dr. Jaap Buurke en Dr. Mark Nederhand from Roessingh research and development.