Balance Clinic uses an eight-step process to help guide the user through the data acquisition routine. The program automatically sequences through these steps, but the user may elect to skip steps when it is deemed appropriate.

1. Select Subject – Select or create a subject to load his or her current protocol.
2. Zero Platform – Prepare the platform for acquisition.
3. Foot Position – Select the subject’s base of support on the platform.
4. Acquire – Take data.
5. Analyze – Analyze the data before saving (if desired).
6. Save Data – Save the acquired data.
7. Next Trial – Select the next trial in the subject’s protocol.
8. Print Report – Print any desired reports on trials and Romberg Ratios (if any were selected).

Balance testing often involves a large number of subjects who are participating in multiple trials. Balance Clinic provides a subject database so the clinician can observe and record each subject’s progress. The clinician may also create multiple-subject databases in order to provide separate databases for different studies.

Balance testing for research and assessment frequently requires establishing a uniform test protocol. Balance Clinic assists in the administration of these protocols by allowing clinicians to save a list of trials with pre-selected foot positions, visual condition, data rates, and trial durations into the software. When a new subject record is created in the Subject Database, you may select a protocol for assignment to that subject.

Balance Clinic was developed for use with AMTI’s lightweight and portable AccuSway-Optimized (ACS-O) and AccuGait-Optimized (ACG-O) force plates. Balance Clinic is designed for real-time acquisition and display, allowing the researcher to view Center of Pressure (COP) data as it is acquired. Acquisition rates can be set to 50, 100, or 200 datasets per second.

For each trial, Balance Clinic provides the researcher with a variety of calculated balance parameters and plots. See table below for all available statistical parameters.

• Balance Clinic can perform a customized analysis on an entire subject database with just the click of a button.
• Minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation for each of the listed parameters.
• Regression or trend analysis plotting on the various selected balance parameters.
• View up to 36 Center of Pressure (COP), Base of Support (BoS), or 95^th percentile plots simultaneously.
• Batch analysis of four user variables integrated into the subject database.

Data may be exported in ASCII text format for import into other programs.

Balance Clinic allows you to export:

• Platform force and moment data
• Raw X & Y Center of Pressure (COP) data
• Discrete Fourier Transform Analysis of your data
• All statistical results you’ve selected in the batch utilities program

Balance Clinic provides an accurate and efficient method of recording a subject’s Base of Support (BoS), greatly reducing the time and effort required to accomplish the task. The subject stands on the platform and the clinician marks the points that best indicate the margins of the base of support. The subject then steps off the platform and a provided wand is used to press down on the marked margin positions as the software automatically records these positions.

Printed reports may be made of individual trials. Each report contains subject information, individual statistics and plots. The reports may be batch printed after subject protocols are completed.

A clinician can set up Romberg Ratios in the protocol section of Balance Clinic and print them when the protocols are completed.