Dev Sangha

Lack of balance causes millions of injuries worldwide due to falling. Biofeedback is a method used for correcting balance, gait, and other musculoskeletal functions. Rehabilitation in balance impairments and prevention methods such as sensor devices can be improved through a better understanding of biofeedback’s effects on the brain. In this project, the goal was to see if there is a correlation between brainwaves and audio biofeedback by analyzing data from an electroencephalogram. The audio biofeedback system uses an inertial measurement unit sensor, while the brain monitoring system uses an electroencephalogram. The combined systems may allow for a better understanding of the impact balance and audio biofeedback has on the brain, and to better predict falls in the future. In conclusion, the brainwaves increased with the use of the sonification device, showing that the participant had more cognition when hearing the sound and taking it in as feedback, specifically in alpha, beta, and gamma waves. This is seen with the higher amplitude of frequency waves between 13 and 60 Hz when compared to the trials with no sonification. Higher amplitudes and frequencies mean that more and stronger signals are being picked up by the sensors. These results are preliminary and the next steps are to do testing on a large group of participants. The procedure has been approved by the Steven’s Institute IRB and the logistics of the testing are in progress.