Gamified Digital Balance Assessment

NCT ID: NCT07088848

Last Updated: 2025-07-28

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 30 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-04-20
• Study Completion Date: 2025-12-20

Brief Summary

A randomized controlled trial involving 30 older adults will compare the digitalized Brief-BESTest and the GDBA. Quantitative outcomes included perceived exertion, enjoyment, competence, pressure, and intention to continue use. Qualitative interviews explore user experience.

Conditions

Disease Prevention

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: SCREENING
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Control group

The digitalized Brief-BESTest was designed to digitize and automate the Brief-BESTest. While the traditional clinician-administered Brief-BESTest relies on subjective scoring, the digitalized Brief-BESTest enables self-guided assessments with automated, objective scoring-improving accessibility in community and home settings.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Gamified Digital Balance Assessment

Intervention Type: DEVICE

The GDBA further enhances the digitalized Brief-BESTest experience by incorporating gamification elements tailored to older adults, including points, avatars, real-time performance graphs, and leaderboards. The system provides automated feedback and maintains engagement through periodic avatar demonstrations when user inactivity is detected. Upon meeting task initiation criteria, a countdown triggers data capture.

The interface is designed for accessibility, featuring a high-contrast color scheme (black background with orange/green highlights), voice prompts, and intuitive controls. Upon completion, users receive a comprehensive report including total score, task-level feedback and training recommendations. A leaderboard feature promotes continued engagement, with gamified training modules under development.

At the end of the assessment, the system displays a summary including total balance score, task-specific feedback, a fall risk rating, and personalized training suggestions. Users

Experimental group

The GDBA further enhances the digitalized Brief-BESTest experience by incorporating gamification elements tailored to older adults, including points, avatars, real-time performance graphs, and leaderboards. The system provides automated feedback and maintains engagement through periodic avatar demonstrations when user inactivity is detected. Upon meeting task initiation criteria, a countdown triggers data capture.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Digitalized Brief-BESTest design

Intervention Type: DEVICE

The digitalized Brief-BESTest was designed to digitize and automate the Brief-BESTest. While the traditional clinician-administered Brief-BESTest relies on subjective scoring, the digitalized Brief-BESTest enables self-guided assessments with automated, objective scoring-improving accessibility in community and home settings.

The system employs OpenPose to capture skeletal data via a standard 2D camera, tracking 17 anatomical landmarks (e.g., nose, neck, shoulders, hips, knees). Ten joint angles relevant to static and dynamic postural tasks (e.g., standing, sitting, single-leg stance, and simulated falls) are computed. The torso is defined as a vector from the neck to the midpoint between the hips, serving as a reference for postural alignment.

To convert pixel-based coordinates into metric units, the system uses the user's self-reported height with adjustments based on ISO anthropometric standards (correction factors: 10.77 cm for males, 10.06 cm for females) to approximate true body

Interventions

Gamified Digital Balance Assessment

The GDBA further enhances the digitalized Brief-BESTest experience by incorporating gamification elements tailored to older adults, including points, avatars, real-time performance graphs, and leaderboards. The system provides automated feedback and maintains engagement through periodic avatar demonstrations when user inactivity is detected. Upon meeting task initiation criteria, a countdown triggers data capture.

The interface is designed for accessibility, featuring a high-contrast color scheme (black background with orange/green highlights), voice prompts, and intuitive controls. Upon completion, users receive a comprehensive report including total score, task-level feedback and training recommendations. A leaderboard feature promotes continued engagement, with gamified training modules under development.

At the end of the assessment, the system displays a summary including total balance score, task-specific feedback, a fall risk rating, and personalized training suggestions. Users

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Digitalized Brief-BESTest design

The digitalized Brief-BESTest was designed to digitize and automate the Brief-BESTest. While the traditional clinician-administered Brief-BESTest relies on subjective scoring, the digitalized Brief-BESTest enables self-guided assessments with automated, objective scoring-improving accessibility in community and home settings.

The system employs OpenPose to capture skeletal data via a standard 2D camera, tracking 17 anatomical landmarks (e.g., nose, neck, shoulders, hips, knees). Ten joint angles relevant to static and dynamic postural tasks (e.g., standing, sitting, single-leg stance, and simulated falls) are computed. The torso is defined as a vector from the neck to the midpoint between the hips, serving as a reference for postural alignment.

To convert pixel-based coordinates into metric units, the system uses the user's self-reported height with adjustments based on ISO anthropometric standards (correction factors: 10.77 cm for males, 10.06 cm for females) to approximate true body

Intervention Type: DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• aged 60 or older, living independently, able to walk with or without an assistive device (without external help), willing and able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria

• conditions that impede walking (e.g., hip fractures, lower limb amputations, hemiparesis), medications causing dizziness or affecting balance (e.g., psychotropic drugs), self-reported cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, musculoskeletal, or mental disorders, severe fatigue or pain, severe uncorrected vision or hearing impairments that may affect their ability to interact with the digital system

• Minimum Eligible Age: 60 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Jianan Zhao

Principle investigator

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Hongqiao Community

Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

Countries

China

Other Identifiers

School

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

gamification in balance test

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id