Training balance

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Can a smartphone application be used to reliably assess and train balance?

  • IRAS ID

    214146

  • Contact name

    Alison McGregor

  • Contact email

    a.mcgregor@imperial.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Imperial College London

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    1 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    A novel app has been developed that allow users to assess their own balance from their smartphones. It then uses this assessment as the basis for a short 3 week training intervention that aims to improve the users balance thereby preventing falls. In this study we would like to firstly validate the app's ability to assess someone's balance comparing to the gold standard measures obtained from a force platform. Secondly we will assess the ability of the app and its associated training programme to improve someone's balance again using force platform measures as markers of improvement. These studies will be conducted on older people who may be at risk of falling and who are more likely to have compromised balance.

  • REC name

    East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    17/EM/0042

  • Date of REC Opinion

    23 Jan 2017

  • REC opinion

    Favourable Opinion