Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements
Cerebellar Ataxia (CA) leads to deficiencies in muscle movement and lack of coordination that is often manifested as gait and balance disabilities. Conventional CA clinical assessments are subjective, cumbersome and provide less insight into the functional capabilities of patients. This cross-sectio...
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MDPI AG
2018-08-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2791 |
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| author | Nhan Nguyen Dung Phan Pubudu N. Pathirana Malcolm Horne Laura Power David Szmulewicz |
| author_facet | Nhan Nguyen Dung Phan Pubudu N. Pathirana Malcolm Horne Laura Power David Szmulewicz |
| author_sort | Nhan Nguyen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cerebellar Ataxia (CA) leads to deficiencies in muscle movement and lack of coordination that is often manifested as gait and balance disabilities. Conventional CA clinical assessments are subjective, cumbersome and provide less insight into the functional capabilities of patients. This cross-sectional study investigates the use of wearable inertial sensors strategically positioned on the front-chest and upper-back locations during the Romberg and Trunk tests for objective assessment of human postural balance due to CA. The primary aim of this paper is to quantify the performance of postural stability of 34 patients diagnosed with CA and 22 healthy subjects as controls. Several forms of entropy descriptions were considered to uncover characteristics of movements intrinsic to CA. Indeed, correlation with clinical observation is vital in ascertaining the validity of the inertial measurements in addition to capturing unique features of movements not typically observed by the practicing clinician. Both of these aspects form an integral part of the underlying objective assessment scheme. Uncertainty in the velocity contained a significant level of information with respect to truncal instability and, based on an extensive clustering and discrimination analysis, fuzzy entropy was identified as an effective measure in characterising the underlying disability. Front-chest measurements demonstrated a strong correlation with clinical assessments while the upper-back measurements performed better in classifying the two cohorts, inferring that the standard clinical assessments are relatively influenced by the frontal observations. The Romberg test was confirmed to be an effective test of neurological diagnosis as well as a potential candidate for objective assessment resulting in a significant correlation with the clinical assessments. In contrast, the Trunk test is observed to be relatively less informative. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:59:01Z |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:59:01Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
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| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-cac1373e81884907830e8d1d850f78e22022-12-22T04:28:41ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202018-08-01189279110.3390/s18092791s18092791Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial MeasurementsNhan Nguyen0Dung Phan1Pubudu N. Pathirana2Malcolm Horne3Laura Power4David Szmulewicz5Networked Sensing and Control Lab, School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, AustraliaNetworked Sensing and Control Lab, School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, AustraliaNetworked Sensing and Control Lab, School of Engineering, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, AustraliaFlorey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC 3052, AustraliaBalance Disorders and Ataxia Service, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, St Andrews Place, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, AustraliaFlorey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, VIC 3052, AustraliaCerebellar Ataxia (CA) leads to deficiencies in muscle movement and lack of coordination that is often manifested as gait and balance disabilities. Conventional CA clinical assessments are subjective, cumbersome and provide less insight into the functional capabilities of patients. This cross-sectional study investigates the use of wearable inertial sensors strategically positioned on the front-chest and upper-back locations during the Romberg and Trunk tests for objective assessment of human postural balance due to CA. The primary aim of this paper is to quantify the performance of postural stability of 34 patients diagnosed with CA and 22 healthy subjects as controls. Several forms of entropy descriptions were considered to uncover characteristics of movements intrinsic to CA. Indeed, correlation with clinical observation is vital in ascertaining the validity of the inertial measurements in addition to capturing unique features of movements not typically observed by the practicing clinician. Both of these aspects form an integral part of the underlying objective assessment scheme. Uncertainty in the velocity contained a significant level of information with respect to truncal instability and, based on an extensive clustering and discrimination analysis, fuzzy entropy was identified as an effective measure in characterising the underlying disability. Front-chest measurements demonstrated a strong correlation with clinical assessments while the upper-back measurements performed better in classifying the two cohorts, inferring that the standard clinical assessments are relatively influenced by the frontal observations. The Romberg test was confirmed to be an effective test of neurological diagnosis as well as a potential candidate for objective assessment resulting in a significant correlation with the clinical assessments. In contrast, the Trunk test is observed to be relatively less informative.http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2791cerebellar ataxiainertial measurement unit (IMU)postural balance controlrehabilitationRomberg testtrunk testentropy measures |
| spellingShingle | Nhan Nguyen Dung Phan Pubudu N. Pathirana Malcolm Horne Laura Power David Szmulewicz Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements Sensors cerebellar ataxia inertial measurement unit (IMU) postural balance control rehabilitation Romberg test trunk test entropy measures |
| title | Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements |
| title_full | Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements |
| title_fullStr | Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements |
| title_short | Quantification of Axial Abnormality Due to Cerebellar Ataxia with Inertial Measurements |
| title_sort | quantification of axial abnormality due to cerebellar ataxia with inertial measurements |
| topic | cerebellar ataxia inertial measurement unit (IMU) postural balance control rehabilitation Romberg test trunk test entropy measures |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/18/9/2791 |
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