• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2016

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and identify variables for the standing balance of elderly subjects with different balancing abilities by using Kinect and Wii Balance Board. Method: The Berg Balance Scale (BBS) test was performed in 40 elderly subjects aged ${\geq}65years$ who can perform daily activities. The participants were divided into two groups, the healthy seniors (n = 20, BBS score ${\geq}52$) and the seniors with balancing problems (n = 20, BBS score < 52). Each group performed two standing tests (eyes open and eyes close) with two devices (Kinect and Wii Balance Board). The root mean square (RMS), mean distance (MDIST), range of distance (ROD), mean velocity, and 95% ellipse area were calculated from the measured data. Results: Among the calculated variables, RMS, MDIST, and ROD in the mediolateral direction showed significant differences between the two groups and a negative correlation with BBS scores. Conclusion: The results of the present study show that simple standing balance of the elderly can be measured with Kinect and Wii Balance Board, which are low-cost, easy to carry, and easy to use, by using the selected variables.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.30-40
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• 2017

Background: Many studies have reported positive results of the various mirror training and virtual reality games in improving dynamic standing balance and posture adjustment in chronic stroke patients. However, no systematic study has been conducted to compare the effects of virtual reality games and the mirror balance training. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Wii balance games and Mirror Self-Balancing Exercises in improving proprioception of knee joint and standing balance of people with chronic stroke. Methods: Twenty patients with chronic stroke volunteered for this study. The subjects were randomly divided into a Wii balance games group and a Mirror Self-Balancing Exercises group with 10 patients in each group. Each training was performed for 30 mins a day for 4 days. In addition to the balance training, 30 mins neuro-developmental-treatment based routine physical therapy was given to both groups. Proprioception was measured using two continuous passive motion devices, and static balance was measured using a Wii balance board. Dynamic balance assessment tools included the Berg Balance Scale, Dynamic Gait Index, and Timed Up-and-Go test. Results: All measured variables before and after the experimental results showed a significant improvement in both groups (p<.05). Only the improvement of the affected knee proprioception appeared to be significantly greater in the Wii balance game group (p<.05). However, other variables did not differ between the groups (p>.05). Conclusion: The findings suggest that both Wii balance games and Mirror Self-Balancing Exercises may be helpful for improving the proprioception of knee joint and the balance of patients with chronic stroke.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.85-92
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• 2016

PURPOSE: A good, valid, and feasible tool for evaluating sit to stand (STS) is needed to help clinicians quantify the STS ability of stroke patients and people with balance disorders. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the concurrent validity of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB) and a force plate during STS and gait. METHODS: Seventeen healthy adults performed five trials of STS and gait on the WBB placed on the force plate. The force plate and the WBB were compared in regard to center of pressure (COP) and ground reaction force (GRF) data that were collected simultaneously. The variables used for analysis were time (s), integral summation (%), COP path length (mm), COP x range, and COP y range, all of which were measured for both tasks. Counter (%), peak (%), and rebound (%) were analyzed for STS, and $1^{st}$ peak (%), min peak (%), and 2nd peak (%) were analyzed for gait. The concurrent validity was analyzed using an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and a standard error of measurement (SEM) with a 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: The concurrent validity of the WBB for STS ranged from fair to good (ICC=.701~.994, SEM=.029~3.815). The concurrent validity for gait was good (ICC=.869 ~.989, SEM=.007~2.052) aside from path length and x and y ranges of COP (ICC=-.150~.371, SEM=3.635~4.142). CONCLUSION: The GRF of the WBB has a good validity for STS and gait analysis. The WBB is remarkably portable, easy to use, and convenient for clinically assessing STS and gait.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.40-47
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• 2016

Background: Assessments of Sit-to-Stand (STS) and gait functions are essential procedures in evaluating level of independence for the patients after stroke. In a previous study, we developed the software to analyze center of pressure (COP) in standing position on Wii Balance Board (WBB). Objects: This purpose of this study is to measure test-retest reliability of ground reaction forces, COP and time using WBB on STS and gait in healthy adults. Methods: Fifteen healthy participants performed three trials of STS and gait on WBB. The time (s), vertical peak (%) and COP path-length (cm) were measured on both tasks. Additionally, counter (%), different peak (%), symmetry ratio, COP x-range and COP y-range were analyzed on STS, 1st peak (%), 2nd peak (%) of weight were analyzed on gait. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error measurement (SEM) and smallest real difference (SRD) were analyzed for test-retest reliability. Results: ICC of all variables except COP path-length appeared to .676~.946 on STS, and to .723~.901 on gait. SEM and SRD of all variables excepting COP path-length appeared .227~8.886, .033~24.575 on STS. SEM and SRD excepting COP path-length appeared about .019~3.933, .054~11.879 on gait. Conclusion: WBB is not only cheaper than force plate, but also easier to use clinically. WBB is considered as an adequate equipment for measuring changes of weight bearing during balance, STS and gait test which are normally used for functional assessment in patients with neurological problems and elderly. The further study is needed concurrent validity on neurological patients, elderly patients using force plate and WBB.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.301-305
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• 2019

Wii^® balance board (WBB, Nintendo, Japan) is a device that can measure and record the center of pressure path length (CPPL) and 95% confidence ellipse area (Area 95) in relation to body sway. For evaluating measure of improvement after reconstruction of medial patellar luxation (MPL) in small sized dogs, A total of 6 dogs with limping and lameness gait attributed to Grade II, III or IV MPL were evaluated. Dogs were measured for difference of extension and flexion range of motion in the stifle (dROM), muscle mass, lameness, willingness to bear weight on the affected limb while standing, and willingness to lift the contralateral limb scores, CPPL and Area 95 of WBB on pre-surgery, post-surgery 4, 8 weeks. CPPL was significantly different on pre-surgery compared with post-surgery 8 weeks (p < 0.05). Except for CPPL, measured variables were significantly different on pre-surgery compared with post-surgery 4 and post-surgery 8 weeks (p < 0.01).

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.2767-2772
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• 2013

Balance is the foundation for all active daily livings. Evaluation of balance has been conducted to measure postural sway of center of pressure(COP). The purpose of this study is to introduce the Balancia and to examine the validity and inter-, intra-reliability for measure of balance with stroke patients. COP was measured by Wii balance board. The subjects Participated in this study were 39 stroke patients. Intra- and inter-reliability was examined using intraclass correlation coefficient(ICC) with 95% confidence interval. In the result of intra- and inter-reliability, all COP parameters of postural sway showed high to very high reliability with ICC=.793-.939 and ICC=.791-.955. Validity was determined by correlation with Accusway force plate. There were high validity with ICC=.851-.955 between tools. According to these results, the Balancia showed high validity and reliability. It is a useful clinical tool for evaluating balance in stroke patients.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.488-492
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to find out the reliability and validity of the newly updated Balancia 2.5 program using Wii balance board through equipment that can measure center of pressure data with the precision. Design: Cross-sectional study Methods: Twenty-seven healthy adults participated in the study. The subjects were assessed for static balance ability by Accusway, and were assessed for static balance ability on Wii balance board connected to theBalancia 2.5 program.To limit postural fluctuations due to stare, the subjects were asked to look at a 15 cm dot drawn 3 m in front of them for 30 seconds with their eyes open. Static balance ability data such as path length and sway velocity were extracted from all measurement tools.Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability and validity were extracted through intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: The intra-rater reliability that the same rater shows consistent results through test-retest was a high level at ICC=0.968 (0.926~0.986), and inter-rater reliability that the requires consistent results even when measured by different raters was a high level at ICC=0.943 (0.870~0.975). The validity was a high level at ICC=0.948 (0.881~0.977), which shows whether the measurement tool is properly measuring what it is intended to measure. Conclusions: The Balancia 2.5 program, newly updated through this study, proved to be a program with high reliability and validity in evaluating static balance ability like the existingBalancia 2.0 program.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.297-300
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• 2019

Wii^® balance board (WBB) is a device that can measure and record body sway. This study was conducted to evaluate the reliability of WBB in small sized dog as inexpensive, portable and convenient tool. The center of pressure path length (CPPL) and 95% confidence ellipse area (Area 95) were evaluated with only two plates of WBB. The parameters were evaluated between no load (0 kg) and mass group (0.25-4 kg on each one plate). 23 dogs (2.3-7.3 kg) were evaluated for with hindlimb standing for 10 seconds. The mass group showed a significant value in comparison to the no load during the measurement. And intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) between CPPL and Area 95 revealed very high both mass and dog group. In the evaluation of medial patellar luxation (MPL) as a diagnostic tool, 80 dogs with MPL and 23 non-affected dogs were used. In studies of CPPL and Area 95, significant differences were found between non-affected and MPL groups for 10 and 30 seconds, respectively. The WBB can be used as a valid tool for evaluating hind limb standing balance and can be useful as an objective tool to present clinical results in small sized dog with MPL.

• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.74-83
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• 2019

This study designs a squat posture recognition system that can provide correct squat posture guidelines. This system comprises two modules: a Kinect camera for monitoring users' body movements and a Wii Balance Board(WBB) for measuring balanced postures with legs. Squat posture recognition involves two states: "Stand" and "Squat." Further, each state is divided into two postures: correct and incorrect. The incorrect postures of the Stand and Squat states were classified into three and two different types of postures, respectively. The factors that determine whether a posture is incorrect or correct include the difference between shoulder width and ankle width, knee angle, and coordinate of center of pressure(CoP). An expert and 10 participants participated in experiments, and the three factors used to determine the posture were measured using both Kinect and WBB. The acquired data from each device show that the expert's posture is more stable than that of the subjects. This data was classified using a support vector machine (SVM) and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier. The classification results showed that the accuracy achieved using the SVM and $na{\ddot{i}}ve$ Bayes classifier was 95.61% and 81.82%, respectively. Therefore, the developed system that used Kinect and WBB could classify correct and incorrect postures with high accuracy. Unlike in other studies, we obtained the spatial coordinates using Kinect and measured the length of the body. The balance of the body was measured using CoP coordinates obtained from the WBB, and meaningful results were obtained from the measured values. Finally, the developed system can help people analyze the squat posture easily and conveniently anywhere and can help present correct squat posture guidelines. By using this system, users can easily analyze the squat posture in daily life and suggest safe and accurate postures.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.891-895
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• 2015

We investigated the effects of a Virtual reality(VR) program on the proprioception and instability of functional ankle instability(FAI) patients. Among the 20s old individuals who lived in Republic of Korea; 20 people were selected through a public participation process. The 20 participants were then randomly divided into two groups, one of strength exercise(n=10) and one of balance exercise(n=10). Of the patients who had experienced an ankle sprain in the past and currently felt ankle instability, those who recorded 24 points or less on the Cumberland ankle instability tool(CAIT) were determined to have FAI. We selected the strength exercise and balance exercise in the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus as a VR program. The subjects used the program on the Wii Balance Board three times per week for 20 minutes and total 10-minute warm-up and down for four weeks. Proprioception and CAIT of the balance exercise group were improved significantly after the exercise compared to before the exercise(p<.05). Authors recommend that the balance exercise in the VR program be used as an aid for physical therapeutic intervention.