Date of Award
Spring 2006
Document Type
Thesis - Restricted
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biomedical Engineering
First Advisor
Harris, Gerald F.
Second Advisor
McGuire, John R.
Third Advisor
Wang, Mei
Abstract
Postural stability is an essential component of quiet stance, ambulation, and activities of daily living. The corruption of sensory, motor, or central nervous system function, often due to aging or neurologic disease, impairs the ability to maintain postural equilibrium. Older patients and patients with Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, and stroke are among the most vulnerable populations. A variety of measures may be used for the evaluation of patients with balance disorders. Of these, postural stability assessment presents an attractive method of rapid quantization that is not universally applied in the clinical setting. This project establishes a system and a protocol that may be used to examine both unilateral and bilateral stability parameters using existing equipment in a standard motion analysis laboratory. The system provides clinicians with a quick functional assessment and immediate results. The implementation of postural stability evaluation in the clinical setting could improve the accuracy of treatment and provide further insight to the nature of neurologic disorders.
Recommended Citation
Schneider, Jennifer M., "Quantitative Clinical Assessment of Postural Stability in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy" (2006). Master's Theses (1922-2009) Access restricted to Marquette Campus. 4105.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/theses/4105