Applicability of Kinect Sensor® in the Rehabilitation of Balance in the Elderly

Sample Each volunteer has agreed to participate of this research after signing a informed consent. The present work has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Research of the School of Medical and Health Sciences of Juiz de Fora, SUPREMA University, Juiz de Fora, Brazil, under the statement 0015/12.

Each subject filled adequately an anamnesis questionnaire composed of items which referred to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Those considered incapable of performing activities involving maintenance of balance or belonging to the health risk group were excluded. Health risk was defined by criteria such as, cardiopathies, uncontrolled hypertension, auditory and visual impairment, neurological disturbances and severe muscle-skeletal conditions. Besides those factors, scores inferior to 45 points in the Berg Balance Scale also resulted in exclusion.

In order to collect data, 26 individuals from the Hospital and Maternity Ward Therezinha de Jesus (School of Medical and Health Sciences of Juiz de Fora, SUPREMA University, Juiz de Fora, Brazil) were evaluated. Among them, six have been excluded for distinct reasons, such as, abandoning the proposed sessions or presenting risk factors inserted in the exclusion criteria of the study. The experimental group was composed by 10 subjects (eight females) with mean age of 64.5 years old and the control group had other 10 participants (five females) with mean age 23 years.

The sampled individuals were subject to a sequence of tests specifically devised for static and dynamic balance, which could be used as a comparison parameter for postural balance among the individuals. The tests applied were: a) Timed Up and Go test (TUG); b) Romberg Tandem test; c) Berg Balance scale.

Protocol Treatment protocol consisted of 10 sessions with maximal length of 6 minutes for performing activities using the KS. The interval between the evaluations was of five weeks and the sessions took place twice times a week, according to the participant availability. Before the first session and one day preceding the last, the individuals were evaluated in what concerns static and dynamic balance. Arterial pressure (AP) measurement and stretching activity were performed prior to the KS session. Afterwards, AP was again measured.