Virtual Reality ( IF 4.2 ) Pub Date : 2021-04-03 , DOI: 10.1007/s10055-021-00521-6 A. Gonçalves , M. F. Montoya , R. Llorens , S. Bermúdez i Badia
Balance disorders can have substantial adverse implications on the performance of daily activities and lead to an increased risk of falls, which often have severe negative consequences for older adults. Quantitative assessment through computerized force plate-based posturography enables objective assessment of postural control but could not successfully represent specific abilities required during daily activities. The use of virtual reality (VR) could improve the representative design of functional activities and increase the ecological validity of posturographic tests, which would enhance the transferability of results to the real world. In this work, we investigate the feasibility of a simulated bus ride experienced in a surround-screen VR system to assess balance with increased ecological validity. Participants were first evaluated with a posturography test and then with the VR-based bus ride test, while the reactions of their centre of pressure were registered. Lastly, participants provided self-reported measures of the elicited sense of presence during the test. A total of 16 healthy young adults completed the study. Results showed that the simulation could elicit significant medial–lateral excursions of the centre of pressure in response to variations in the optical flow. Furthermore, these responses' amplitude negatively correlated with the participants' posturography excursions when fixating a target. Although the sense of presence was moderate, likely due to the passive nature of the test, the results support the feasibility of our proposed paradigm, based in the context of a meaningful daily living activity, in assessing balance control components.
中文翻译:
虚拟现实公交车作为平衡的生态有效评估:一项可行性研究
平衡失调会对日常活动产生重大不利影响,并导致跌倒的风险增加,而跌倒的风险通常会对老年人造成严重的负面影响。通过基于计算机测力板的姿势描记法进行定量评估,可以对姿势控制进行客观评估,但不能成功代表日常活动中所需的特定能力。虚拟现实(VR)的使用可以改善功能性活动的代表性设计,并可以提高姿势描写测试的生态有效性,从而可以增强结果向现实世界的可传递性。在这项工作中,我们调查了在环绕屏VR系统中体验模拟公交车以评估平衡性和生态有效性的可行性。首先对参与者进行了体位检查,然后进行了基于VR的公交乘车测试,同时记录了他们的压力中心的反应。最后,参与者提供了自我报告的测试过程中所引起的临场感的度量。共有16位健康的年轻人完成了这项研究。结果表明,该模拟可以引起光心的变化,从而引起压力中心的明显的内侧-外侧偏移。此外,在固定目标时,这些响应的幅度与参与者的姿势描写偏移呈负相关。尽管存在感适中,可能是由于测试的被动性质,但结果在有意义的日常生活活动的基础上,支持了我们提出的范例的可行性,