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Study:
Vibrating Insoles May Help Elderly By Emma Ross,
the Associated Press The experiment, outlined this week in
The Lancet medical journal, found that elderly people showed signs of
better balance when they stood on a pair of battery-operated randomly
vibrating insoles. Although users aren't conscious of the
subtle buzz, the idea is that the vibrations amplify balance-related
signals between the feet and the brain that become dulled with age or
illness. Experts said the research shows promise
but scientists need to see if the technique improves balance when people
walk, turn or reach, which is when they are most vulnerable to a fall. When a person leans or sways to one
side, the pressure on the sole of that side increases. Normally, the
nervous system senses the change in pressure and sends a message to the
brain so the posture can be adjusted. However, those messages can be blunted
by age, stroke or conditions such as diabetes. "I think the vibrating insole holds
promise and is definitely worth studying," said Dr. Mary Tinetti,
chief of geriatrics at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not
connected with the study. The research, funded by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health, was conducted by scientists at They recruited 27 healthy volunteers -
15 people in their 20s and 12 elderly people - to stand on the gel-based
insoles, which were placed on the floor for the experiment. The volunteers
were told to keep their eyes closed and their arms by their sides. The
insoles were connected to a large battery pack and each was implanted with
three small vibrating discs. The intensity of vibration was set
individually so that it was just below the threshold that could be felt.
The scientists conducted before and after tests on various tasks involved
in balance control. The young volunteers showed some
improvement with the vibrating insoles, but the elderly people showed more
improvement, said James Collins, a professor of biomedical engineering at "The improvements we are seeing in
the elderly - that is, we move them down to, or close to, the level in the
young - we view as being very positive and suggestive that this technology
may in fact be able to improve elderly balance to the point where we could
significantly reduce the risk of falls," Collins said. The fact that the young people also
improved indicates there may be potential for such insoles for young
people who need extra help with balance, such as construction workers,
gymnasts, acrobats or other athletes, Collins said. The idea behind the insoles is
"stochastic resonance," an effect where a weak signal is easier
to detect when it is surrounded by a background of random noise - the
vibrations. "It's a counterintuitive notion
because engineers and the public tend to think of noise as being a
nuisance for detection and information transfer. We tune static out of our
radios, we buy cell phones that have low interference. In general, we want
to get rid of noise," Collins said. "But noise, under certain
circumstances, can be good." "Our neurons are threshold based,
which means the signals need to exceed some amplitude before they can be
detected. Noise boosts the strength of the signal above the
threshold," he said. Collins plans to test the insoles with
more frail elderly people and in studies that involve walking and turning.
Providing those work out, the biggest
challenge will be to design a practical pair of shoes, or insoles that can
be worn inside any pair of shoes, Collins said. No such insoles are
currently commercially available. "I think this is a terrific first
effort to show a benefit from this technology," said Jack Guralnik,
chief of epidemiology and demography at the U.S. National Institute on
Aging, who was not connected with the study. But more tests are needed to
determine whether it would help people with neurologic disease or other
impairments to their balance, he said. © 2003
The Associated Press
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