Postural control assessment in multiple sclerosis by diffusion analysis on kinect skeleton data

Abstract

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a central nervous system disease widely known for being a non-reversible degeneration process that affects young adults as well as elder people. Such disease affects the equilibrium function of the postural control system required to perform vital tasks such as walking or hold upright position. To palliate the long-term effects associated to MS, physicians perform therapeutic interventions on patients in order to preserve their motor capabilities as best as possible. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions, representative measurements or scores are used to assess the actual state of each patient. This work presents an exploratory approach to provide quantitative mediolateral and anteroposterior balance descriptors in MS through Diffusion Analysis on balance data acquired with a low-cost computational system using a Kinect device. The obtained results were compared against a subset of exercises of the Berg Balance Scale.