Evaluation of a New Wearable Technology for Kinematic Analysis during Perturbed Posture

In this study a validity evaluation of a sensorized, full-body suit for kinematic measurement during perturbed upright stance task was proposed. Subjects underwent to a series of translational perturbations of the base of support in backward direction, with fixed speed and space (20 cm/s, 15 cm), The ankle joint angular displacement were simultaneously acquired by the full-body suit and an optoelectronic system, considered as the gold-standard for kinematics measurement. The two devices showed a good correspondence between measures, with absolute biases not higher than 0.8 degrees for both ankle joint range of motion and peaks amplitude. Results suggest the possibility to use the proposed wearable technology for assessing human body angular kinematics during perturbed posturography trials, in order to analyze balance strategies employed for external disruption withstanding and balance recovery.