Publications by authors named "C J Smeesters"
Article Synopsis
- - Current methods to measure maximum forward lean angle, step length, and velocity in clinical settings are complex and expensive, prompting a study to assess the accuracy of five measurement techniques against 3D motion analysis, the gold standard.
- - Four live measurement methods (LabVIEW, load cell, inclinometer, protractor) and one post-processing method (2D video analysis) were tested with twelve healthy participants recovering balance from various lean angles.
- - Results showed that the LabVIEW method was the most accurate but also the most expensive; simpler options like the protractor and video analysis offered sufficient accuracy and could be more practical for clinical use.
Background: Grab bars are a common fall prevention strategy in the bathroom, but biomechanical data are lacking to support clinicians' interventions. This study aims to determine the magnitude and duration of the force applied to four grab bar configurations during complete bathtub transfers on a potentially slippery surface.
Methods: A three factorial repeated measures design was used in an experimental environment including a bathtub, padded walls, instrumented fixed grab bars and a safety harness.
Pushing capacity is a key parameter in athletic racing wheelchair performance. This study estimated the potential contribution of upper limb momentum to pushing. The question is relevant since it may affect the training strategy adopted by an athlete.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral studies have quantified and compared balance recovery between healthy younger and older adults, using a variety of large postural perturbations and loss of balance directions. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies at the threshold of balance recovery, where avoiding a fall is not always possible, have included middle-aged adults. We thus determined the maximum lean angle from which 20 younger, 16 middle-aged and 16 older healthy adults could be suddenly released and still recover balance using a single step for forward, sideways and backward leans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article introduces a sit-ski developed for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in view of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic games. The design is predominantly based on controlling the mass distribution of the sit-ski, a critical factor in skiing performance and control. Both the antero-posterior location of the centre of mass and the sit-ski moment of inertia were addressed in our design.
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