A low-cost Wii Balance Board™-based posturography system: an efficacy study with healthy subjects and individuals with stroke

The high cost and space required by laboratory grade posturography systems prevents their adoption in most clinics. We have developed a low-cost posturography system that is based on three different exercises commonly used in posturography testing and uses the Nintendo (R) Wii Balance Board (TM) as a force platform. This paper describes: a) a study of the performance of 144 healthy individuals on the experimental system; and b) concurrent validity of the experimental system with a laboratory grade posturography system and with several standardized clinical tests in a cohort of 53 stroke survivors. Concurrent validity with the laboratory grade system ranged from moderate to high across the three exercises. Correlations with clinical tests were consistent with previous research. These findings support the use of this accessible system to compare postural behaviors of individuals with stroke with those of healthy subjects.