Validation of Measures from the Smartphone Sway Balance Application: A Pilot Study

Jeremy A. Patterson, PhD, FACSM

2014

A number of different balance assessment techniques are currently available and widely used. These include both subjective and objective assessments. The ability to provide quantitative measures of balance and posture is the benefit of objective tools, however these instruments are not generally utilized outside of research laboratory settings due to cost, complexity of operation, size, duration of assessment, and general prac- ticality. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess the value and validity of using software developed to access the iPod and iPhone accelerometers output and translate that to the measurement of human balance.