The Nintendo® Wii Fit Balance Board can be used as a portable and low-cost posturography system with good agreement compared to established systems

European Journal of Medical Research

Björn Rath¹  Marcel Betsch²  Markus Tingart²  Ben Rohof²  Valentin Quack² 

[1] Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital Wels-Grieskirchen, Grieskirchner Str. 42, 4600, Wels, Austria;Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany;

关键词: Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board;    Screening;    Postural stability;    Fragility fractures;    Geriatric assessment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40001-020-00445-y

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAlmost all epidemiological studies over the past 40 years have determined that the incidence of fragility fractures is increasing. Therefore, the assessment of postural stability and monitoring any progress during balance training for geriatric patients to prevent falls are becoming more important. The Nintendo® Wii Fit Balance Board, with its integrated software and scoring system, might be a cheap and easily accessible tool for this purpose.MethodsThis prospective study analyzed the diagnostic value of the Wii Fit Balance Board in 41 healthy subjects using two measurements: the yoga task “tree,” which is performed in one-leg stance; and the balance game “table tilt.” Our investigation compared these tasks to two established, regularly used systems, the MFT-S3 Check and the Posturomed, by looking for correlation and agreement, using Bland–Altman plots, as well as for differences to demographic data. All measurement tools were also compared to the Sensory Organization Test—the gold standard for detecting impaired balance.ResultsWe found a moderate correlation between the yoga exercise “tree” and the Sensory Organization Test (correlation coefficient r = 0.514, p = 0.001) as well as the MFT-S3 Check (r = 0.356–0.472, p = 0.002–0.022) and the Posturomed (r = 0.345, p = 0.027). However, results from the balance game “table tilt” did not show a significant correlation with those of the systems to which we compared it (p = 0.301–0.953).ConclusionsAccording to the literature, the raw data from the Wii Fit Balance Board are comparable to that obtained by laboratory-grade force platforms. We have found, however, that the yoga pose “tree,” as integrated into the Nintendo® Wii Fit Balance Board with its own scoring system, also correlates with the gold-standard Sensory Organization Test. It also correlates with two frequently used diagnostic and therapeutic devices. We, therefore, conclude that the Wii Fit Balance Board is suitable for the evaluation of postural stability and may be useful in preventing falls among the geriatric population.Level of evidence2b.

【 授权许可】

CC BY