Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Center Of Pressure And Center Of Mass To Determine Patterns Of Postural Stability In Neurotypical Subjects, Natalie Tipton

Masters Theses

The body’s postural control mechanism is responsible for responding to perturbations of balance and keeping the body upright. One of the main ways that this is completed during quiet standing, where both feet are planted on the ground, is through center of pressure oscillations. In these oscillations, the center of pressure circles around the center of mass, constantly counteracting any lean that exists in the body. These oscillations can be recorded with floorembedded force plates and center of mass can be recorded with a motion capture system. In this research, these signals were recorded for stances with feet together and …

Cortical Oscillations During A Lateral Balance Perturbation While Walking, Joseph Lee

Dissertations (1934 -)

The role of sensory systems in the cortical control of dynamic balance was examined using electroencephalography (EEG) recordings during balance perturbations while walking. Specifically, we examined the impact of sensory deficits on cortical oscillations using vibratory stimuli to suppress sensory feedback and by comparing cortical oscillations during balance perturbations while walking in people with sensory deficits associated with cervical myelopathy and neurologically intact controls. Balance during walking provides a rich framework for investigating cortical control using EEG during a functionally relevant task. While this approach is promising, substantial technical challenges remain in recording and processing EEG in the noisy, artifact …

Hand Control Of Bipedal Balance In Quiet Standing: Implementations For Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, Ala’A Al-Rashdan

Dissertations

Maintaining stable posture is important for humans, even though it is challenging because of our bipedal structure. One of the main balance related disorders is paraplegia due to spinal cord injury. People with a complete spinal cord injury have motor and sensory impairment that greatly reduces the ability to move their lower extremities. In recent years, lower extremity exoskeletons that apply torques generated by motors to the joints of the person have helped to them stand and walk.

This research is a part of an extended project to build a new exoskeleton for use by individuals with paraplegia due to …

The Influence Of Passive Ankle Joint Power On Balance Recovery, Stephanie E. Hamilton

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Over one–third of Americans over the age of 65 fall each year, costing more than $19 billion in health care costs in 2000. Many adults 65+ who have not experienced a fall still fear falling, and fear can decrease quality of life and increase the likelihood of falls. Several factors such as muscle strength, power, stiffness and tendon properties change in the human body with age affecting balance, which has been tagged as a fall risk predictor. Additionally, balance recovery strategies also differ between young and older adults, with young adults primarily utilizing their ankle joint and older adults utilizing …

Dynamic Balance Control During Treadmill Walking In Chronic Stroke Survivors, Eric Richard Walker

Dissertations (1934 -)

Maintaining dynamic balance is an important component of walking function that is likely impaired in chronic stroke survivors, evidenced by an increased prevalence of falls. Dynamic balance control requires maintaining the center of mass (COM) within the base of support during movement. During walking, dynamic balance control is achieved largely by modifying foot placement to adjust the base of support. However, chronic stroke survivors have difficulty with both precision control of foot placement, as well as reduced control of COM movement. The objective of this dissertation was to characterize dynamic balance control strategies during walking in chronic stroke survivors. Additionally, …

Mechanisms Of Sensorimotor Impairment In Multiple Sclerosis, Matthew Cheeming Chua

Dissertations (1934 -)

Sensorimotor impairments in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) might alter coordination and balance strategy during functional movements. People with MS often have symptoms such as weakness and discoordination in the lower limbs, resulting in poor walking and balance function. This decrease in function can result in falls, decreased community activity, unemployment, and reduced quality of life. As MS is a progressive disease resulting in a range of dysfunction, the amount of lower limb impairment can cause changes to walking and balance strategies to maintain functional performance. The overall objective of this dissertation was to quantify the impairment at the hip …

Understanding Standing, Christopher Storey

Doctoral Dissertations

Research objectives. Psychophysical acceleration threshold is a tool for detecting deficits in dynamic postural control. Our lab has shown differences in the acceleration threshold among young adults, elderly adults, and elderly adults with diabetes. Electromyography, Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, and hearing tests investigate the underlying physiological mechanisms for the detriments in postural control. Due to peri-sway perturbations, the motion of a person's sway affects the signal to noise ratio for perturbed stance. Since increases in sway range accompany postural instabilities, sway entrainment will allow us to investigate changes in acceleration threshold at different points in sway. The center of pressure, observed …

The Use Of Computerized Dynamic Posturography To Assess The Balance In Individuals With Parkinson's Disease, Theresa Erin Mcguirk

Theses and Dissertations

Postural instability is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease (PD), currently evaluated using several subjective tools. However, the nature and degree of the resulting balance deficit is not well specified by these tools. Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) provides an objective assessment by isolating and quantifying sensory and motor contributions to balance control. The purpose of this study was to compare balance in individuals with PD to a control group using CDP (NeuroCom Smart Balance Master® system). Testing took place at the Southeast Parkinson's disease Research Education and Clinical Center (PADRECC), an interdisciplinary center of excellence for people with PD …

Evapotranspiration Using A Satellite-Based Surface Energy Balance With Standardized Ground Control, Ricardo Trezza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study evaluated the potential of using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) as a means for estimating evapotranspiration (ET) for local and regional scales in Southern Idaho. The original SEBAL model was refined during this study to provide better estimation of ET in agricultural areas and to make more reliable estimates of ET from other surfaces as well, including mountainous terrain. The modified version of SEBAL used in this study, termed as SEBAL_ID (lD stands for Idaho) includes standardization of the two SEBAL "anchor" pixels, the use of a water balance …