METROLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ROCKING BOARDS AND POSTURAL READERS TO ASSESS SINGLE STANCE STABILITY IN HUMAN SUBJECTS

The study of posture and movement control in humans requires technological supports able to provide accurate, reproducible and repeatable information on displacement and/or position in real-time. A methodology used in rehabilitation and in sports medicine involves the use of rocking boards on which the subjects must keep their balance, in different operating conditions. The use of rocking boards combined with displacement and position sensors allocated at specific points of the human body, can provide information on the single stance stability and contribute to reprogramming the postural and proprioceptive control of healthy and pathological subjects (orthopaedic and neurological patients), mitigating the risk of falling in older subjects and decreasing the risk of injuries in sport athletes. This paper describes the procedure used for the characterization of rocking boards (uniaxial and triaxial) and wearable sensors as postural readers, in terms of angular position. In the first step both measuring systems are characterized by a reference accelerometer, in order to accurately determine the angular positions. A metrological approach in biomechanical measurements is necessary since it provides more accurate and reproducible data on which evaluations related to human health and wellbeing can be achieved.