The Evaluation of Balance Control by Quantification of the Temporospatial Measures of Functional Reach Test

Balance control is the sum action of the sense and reaction systems. In order to perform different activities in different postures one must have the ability to control and to adjust his balance in different conditions.A deficit in brain action following injury, disease or aging can undermine the ability to control balance and increase the risk to fall.The limitation in gait and mobility can increase morbidity. There is a limited number of tools evaluating and recording balance control ability. Most of this tools are observational and can be used in the clinical field. The aim of this work is to estimate the feasibility of an objective tool that can evaluate balance by tracking objective quantitative measures during the standard physical therapy session without using an expensive equipment. By using this tool the therapist can monitor the patient and collect quantitive data while performing tasks while keeping balance. This tool will allow the therapist to detect changes in balance and evaluate the effect of different conditions on the patients balance. This tool is based on the well known functional reach test. The addition of this tool to the test is the use of a simple camera and a computer softwear that will collect the data and analyze it while performing the test. This tool will give the therapist information on the responsiveness and the spatiotemporal measures of the performance. The aim of this work is to check what is the contribution of spatiotemporal measures of the functional reach test among patients suffering from acquired brain injury to the understanding of the motor function and balance control of people suffering from brain injury. .