A Pilot Study of the Wii Fit as a Low-Cost Virtual Reality System to Evaluate Balance Ability in Older Adults

NCT01229969 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2009-060390
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Accidental falls in older adults are highly prevalent and a major source of morbidity. Over 30% of people aged 65 or older fall each year with about half of these cases being recurrent. Falls may result in head trauma, bone fractures, and even death and are leading cause of both nonfatal and fatal injuries in older adults. The Nintendo Wii Fit is a suite of exercise and fitness video games using a balance board periphery developed for the Wii console. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and validity of the Nintendo Wii Fit, in detecting balance problems in older community dwelling adults.20 ambulatory older adults will be recruited to participate in this study.Subject will be asked to complete 1 study visit. In this visit information will be gathered about the subjects overall health including fall assessments. Qualified subjects will be randomized into two study groups where one group will begin the study with Wii Fit testing followed by NeuroCom EquiTest evaluation and the other group in reversed order.

Conditions

Falls, Accidental

Keywords

falls, balance problems, gaming systems, balance assessments

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Feasibility and validity of the Wii Fit gaming system in detect balance problems in older adults

  8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

NeuroCom EquiTest® System

EXPERIMENTAL

Measure balance assessment (test for Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and Limit of Stability (LOS).

Other: NeuroCom EquiTest® System

Wii Fit

EXPERIMENTAL

Determine if the Wii Fit is valid and feasible in detecting balance problems in older adults

Other: Wii Fit Balance Games

Interventions

Wii Fit Balance Games OTHER

Ski Slaloms and Table Tilt

Also known as: Ski Slaloms and Table Tilt

Wii Fit

NeuroCom EquiTest® System OTHER

Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and Limit of Stability (LOS).

Also known as: SOT and LOS

NeuroCom EquiTest® System

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 60 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants 60 years of age or older
• Reside in the community
• Who are with and without balance or gait issues

You may not qualify if:

• Impaired mental status, patient scores \<21 on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
• Unable to ambulate without an assistive walking device
• Cannot stand independently for 20 minutes of testing over a 30min period
• Unstable medical conditions
• Active cardiopulmonary
• Degenerative neuro-sensory conditions
• Severe pain with weight bearing
• Vision Impairment
• Weighing more than 300 pounds (150kg)
• Used Wii Fit equipment in the past

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Atlanta VA Medical Center: lead
• Emory University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Atlanta VA Medical Center

Atlanta, Georgia, 30033, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Theodore M Johnson, MD,MPH

  Atlanta Veteran Affairs Adminstration, Emory University School of Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: DIAGNOSTIC
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Site Director, Birmingham/Atlanta VA GRECC

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 27, 2010
• First Posted: October 28, 2010
• Study Start: August 1, 2009
• Primary Completion: October 1, 2011
• Study Completion: March 1, 2012
• Last Updated: January 24, 2013

Record last verified: 2013-01

Locations

US (1)