Reactieve voetplaatsing in balanshandhaving tijdens staan en lopen in gezonde jongeren en mensen met een cerebrovaculaire aandoening

In daily life the upright human body is continuously challenged by external disturbances, such as gravitational forces and forces originating from interactions with the environment. These disturbances can lead to a loss of balance, which must be acted upon accordingly to prevent a fall. Following a disturbance, proper foot placement is crucial for maintaining balance during both standing and walking. However it is unclear why humans place their foot at a certain location at a certain time following an unexpected balance disturbance. A model based prediction of a suitable foot placement location to maintain balance and prevent falls can have great value in both clinical and robotics fields of research. Investigating foot placement in stroke patients can lead to a better understanding how stroke related complications affect foot placement, and how these might be compensated using supportive devices such as exoskeletons.

What is the relation between body states (e.g. center of mass position and velocity) following a change in externally applied pelvic force, and the resulting swing time and stepping location used to maintain balance in standing and walking.

All instances from perturbation onset up and including to the moment of first, second and possibly third subsequent foot contact.

Forces applied at the pelvis during standing and walking to disturb balance and invoke a stepping response.