This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Powell, E S Articles by Pomeroy, V M Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Powell, E S Articles by Pomeroy, V M Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Measurement of sitting balance using the Manchester Active Position Seat (MAPS): a feasibility study

R E Pyburn

E Hill

K S Smith

M S Ribbands

Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust

J Mickelborough

School of Health Care Professions, University of Salford

V M Pomeroy

The Stroke Association's Therapy Research Unit, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Background: Evaluation of the effectiveness of therapy to improve sitting balance has been hampered by the limited number of sensitive objective clinical measures. We developed the Manchester Active Position Seat (MAPS) to provide a portable system to track change in the position of centre of force over time.

Objectives: (1) To investigate whether there is correspondence between the measurement of position change by a forceplate and by MAPS. (2) To explore whether and how MAPS measures changes in position when seated healthy adults change posture.

Design: A feasibility study. Methods: (1) An adult subject sat on MAPS placed on top of a forceplate. The x and y coordinates of the centre of pressure recorded from the forceplate and centre of force from MAPS during movement were compared graphically. (2) Four adults sat on MAPS using a standardized starting position and moving into six sets of six standardized target postures in a predetermined randomized order. The absolute shift in centre of force from the starting position was calculated.

Results: (1) The pattern of change of position over time was similar for the forceplate and for MAPS although there was a measurement difference, which increased with distance from the centre. (2) The direction of change of position corresponded to the direction of movement to the target postures but the amount of change varied between subjects.

Conclusions: MAPS shows promise as an objective clinical measure of sitting balance, but peripheral accuracy of measurement needs to be improved.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. M Sackley, H. J Hill, K. Pound, and A. Foxall The intra-rater reliability of the Balance Performance Monitor when measuring sitting symmetry and weight-shift activity after stroke in a community setting Clinical Rehabilitation, July 1, 2005; 19(7): 746 - 750. [Abstract] [PDF]

				V M Pomeroy, J Mickelborough, E Hill, P Rodgers, and G Giakas A hypothesis: self-propulsion in a wheelchair early after stroke might not be harmful Clinical Rehabilitation, February 1, 2003; 17(2): 174 - 180. [Abstract] [PDF]