Pneumo-tronic Perturbator for the Study of Human Postural Responses

This paper describes the design and operational principles of a device that imparts a well-controlled mechanical force or impulse, a so-called perturbation, to a pre-selected point on the surface of the human body. This perturbator will be integrated within a system aimed at measuring and evaluating human postural reaction in a clinically meaningful way. The ease of use and versatility of the device renders it suitable for manual operation but it can also be integrated in a robotized system. The hardware, control law and characterization of the perturbator are presented. Preliminary results indicate that the device is able to generate repeatable perturbations with characteristics appropriate to the intended application. Further improvements are discussed and proposed.