| | | VA Chicago Laboratory for the Assessment of Balance (VACLAB) is equipped with a NeuroCom® SMART EquiTest® Clinical Research SystemTM with a static long force plate (18-inch by 60-inch), and 8 Channel electromyography (EMG) system that uses surface electrodes. The SMART EquiTest CRS provides the ability to test Limits of Stability (LOS) and to simulate real world disturbances of human balance. Other protocols included in this system are the Sensory Organization Test (SOT), Motor Control Test (MCT), Adaptation Test (ADT), Weight Bearing Squat (WBS), Unilateral Stance (US), and Rhythmic Weight Shift (RWS). This machine allows researchers to collect objective data about sensory, voluntary and reflexive motor functions with respect to human balance performance.  | | Evaluating a subject’s balance on the NeuroCom® SMART EquiTest® Clinical Research SystemTM (Photograph courtesy of NeuroCom International, Inc.). |
Committed to the premise that better prosthesis design coupled with balance training will lead to significantly improved balance and quality of life, VACLAB researchers will pursue dual directions: 1) balance studies of persons with lower limb amputations due to both vascular disease and trauma; and 2) the development and testing of prosthetic ankle-foot systems that provide improved function for standing balance without sacrificing a person’s mobility. The flexibility of the Neurocom® system allows many detailed and hypothesis-driven investigations about the standing balance of persons using lower limb prostheses. CRS software can be controlled to define specific perturbations to subjects’ standing balance by translating or rotating the standing surface and the visual field. Researchers will examine Limits of Stability (LOS), a standardized measurement, to analyze the functional base of support and its role in accidental falls. Future research projects may utilize the full range of measurements provided by the system. In addition to evaluations of standing balance, this equipment will enable researchers to assess sit-to-stand, walking, and weight shifting tests. VACLAB data will contribute to the design of better prosthetic feet that may produce improved balance and balance confidence in lower limb amputees. Improved prosthetic foot design that provides better balance can lead to increased balance confidence among lower limb prosthesis users, thus resulting in their improved mobility, social activity, and quality of life. VACLAB studies will help to distinguish and quantify changes in balance that may be attributable to changes in prosthetic components or to balance training regimens. | | |
