This work presents the design and development of a new alternative tool to measure the Center of Pressure (CoP) displacements, intended to evaluate the human balance. The device is based on a modified commercial balance board used for video games, resulting in a low-cost, portable device capable of computing the CoP, providing 24 of the most used indexes to test the human balance. The proposed standalone device runs on rechargeable batteries, weighs only 3.5 kg, and has a data storage capacity for over 1000 tests. Visual and auditory instructions assist its user interface. Thus, contrary to the commercial systems designed for laboratory use, this device enables the measurement of quantitative balance parameters in non-laboratory places, allowing the study of the balance of vulnerable populations directly on their typical environments. To evaluate the device, 20 older adults (68.60 ± 1.23 years) were tested, and the resulting values were compared with a similar study using a force platform; 19 indexes showed a similarity with those reported using force platform and 12 of these were statistically equivalent. The proposed device represents an open-source alternative tool for researchers and healthcare personnel to acquire reliable data to evaluate human balance.

这项工作介绍了一种新的替代工具的设计和开发，用于测量压力中心 (CoP) 位移，旨在评估人体平衡。该设备基于用于视频游戏的改进型商业平衡板，是一种能够计算 CoP 的低成本便携式设备，提供 24 项最常用的指标来测试人体平衡。建议的独立设备使用可充电电池运行，重量仅为 3.5 公斤，并具有可进行 1000 多次测试的数据存储容量。视觉和听觉指令有助于其用户界面。因此，与为实验室使用而设计的商业系统相反，该设备能够在非实验室场所测量定量平衡参数，从而可以直接在其典型环境中研究脆弱人群的平衡。为了评估该设备，测试了 20 名老年人（68.60 ± 1.23 岁），并将所得值与使用力平台的类似研究进行比较；19 个指标与使用力平台报告的指标相似，其中 12 个在统计上是等效的。拟议的设备代表了一种开源替代工具，可供研究人员和医疗保健人员获取可靠数据以评估人体平衡。