Measuring of the Energy Expenditure during Balance Training Using Wearable Electronics

Homebalance Stability medical device, based on audio-visual feedback and Nintendo Wii Balance Board, is a suitable tool for telerehabilitation of balance issues in patients with brain damage. The main goal was to expand the system by energy expenditure measurements and to verify the usability of the telemetric mobile device FlexiGuard. We used the FlexiGuard system (developed at our institute) and Oxycon (JAEGER (R) Oxycon Mobile, Germany) to measure the energy expenditure. We performed measurements on eight probands. Each proband underwent six activities for a total length of 90 min. During these activities, we measured energy expenditure using Oxycon and heart rate using the FlexiGuard system, from which we calculated the energy expenditure. By comparing the energy expenditure from measuring the heart rate with the FlexiGuard system with that from the Oxycon reference device, we verified the applicability of the FlexiGuard system for estimation energy expenditure. The average deviation from the reference instrument was under 30%. The conventional method, such as Oxycon, cannot be used during home therapy. Therefore, we upgraded the platform of our telemetry system (FlexiGuard), which can measure the heart rate and calculate the energy expenditure.