Subject-specific center of mass estimation for in-home rehabilitation – Kinect-Wii Board vs. Vicon-Force plate

An increasingly aging society creates the need for a reliable evaluation of postural stability, specially for rehabilitation. Estimation of a subject’s center of mass (CoM) is important for the assessment of unsupported, stable standing. A portable, in-home estimation of CoM can be used as a rehabilitation tool and could be achieved using a Microsoft’s Kinect. To validate this approach we compare the performance of two statically equivalent serial chains. One of them was identified using a Kinect and a Wii board, while the other one was obtained from measurements performed with a motion capture system and a force plate. Their similar performance on a validation set indicates that it is feasible to perform subject-specific center of mass estimation in the home environment.