EMBalance. A feasibility/proof of concept study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A Decision Support System incorporating a validated patient-specific, multi-scale Balance Hyper model towards early diagnostic Evaluation and efficient Management plan formulation of Balance Disorders
IRAS ID
179741
Contact name
Doris-Eva Bamiou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
UCL Data Protection Registration, Z6364106/2016/01/56
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 30 days
Research summary
Balance is crucial for an individual’s mobility and independence. Balance control relies on sensory inputs from vision (sight), joint and muscle proprioception (touch) and the vestibular system integration and modulation of sensory inputs within the brain; and motor output to the eye and body muscles. The EMBalance project aims to facilitate diagnosis and improve management of balance disorders as a result of a failure of the sensory inputs or of their integration within the central nervous system.
EMBalance is a feasibility study, multicentre, single-blind, and parallel group study, conducted in Belgium, Germany, Greece and the UK. At present, the question that this study aims to answer is whether the algorithms developed for the EMBalance Platform will yield meaningful information and how these algorithms and platform can be improved, performing an offline comparison of the classical diagnostic approach and the outcome of the EMBalance platform, without any consequence for the patient. Patients who present with balance related symptoms at primary care will be randomised to either intervention group (GP diagnosis assessment with DSS) or control group (GP diagnosis assessment without DSS). Finally, a Specialist Audiovestibular Consultant will confirm the diagnosis and management decisions made by the GPs in order to determine whether the use of the DSS can help non-specialist GPs in a more precise assessment.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/YH/0051
Date of REC Opinion
4 Feb 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion