Objective: The aim of the study was to develop a balance evaluation and exercise system consisting of virtual reality-based software, which can be an alternative to the costly balance devices available in the market for the purpose of assessing balance and exercising in individuals at risk of falling and examining its effectiveness.
Methods: In the first stage of the study, software was developed to evaluate balance and make exercise applications by using the balance platform of the Nintendo Wii game console available in the market. Then, hardware was added to the developed software and this developed system was tested on 30 healthy individuals (17 women and 13 men) and compared with the valid and reliable Biodex Balance System.
Results: When the developed system was compared with the postural stability test of the Biodex Balance System, it was determined that the overall stability (rho = 0.831 P = .027), forward-backward stability (rho = 0.789 P = .032), and left-right stability (rho = 0.761 P = .037) results showed a good correlation. It was observed that the measurements made with both devices gave similar results for static postural stability.
Conclusions: We believe that the exercise system consisting of virtual reality-based software developed within the scope of the project, which is portable and of low cost with balance assessment and rehabilitative games, can be used safely and effectively in improving balance.
Cite this article as: Tarakcı E, Zenginler Yazgan Y, Oktay AB. Development of a balance system including virtual reality applications for the evaluation and improvement of balance: physiotherapy–engineering cooperation. Arch Health Sci Res. 2022;9(1):70-74.