1 Copyright © 2016 by ASME Proceedings of the ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference IDETC/CIE 2016 August 21-24, 2016, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA IDETC2016-59201 ADVANCES IN BALANCE AND BIOFEEDBACK MEASUREMENT: THE CASE FOR HEALTH-BASED, POSTURAL SERIOUS GAMES Theodore Lim School of Engineering & Physical Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Daniil Yurchenko School of Engineering & Physical Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Gnanathusharan Rajendran School of Life Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK Aparajithan Sivanathan School of Engineering & Physical Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK James Ritchie School of Engineering & Physical Sciences Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, UK ABSTRACT Health games are increasingly seen as a means to address issues from therapy and rehabilitation. Yet, as a transformative technology, rarely have such games been explored or exploited to assist research into pathologies. Serious games for research (SGR) to uncover pathologies would allow clinicians to develop new differential diagnostics while providing a positive experience for the subject. This paper is not about game design; nevertheless it presents an outlook to considerations that could be taken forward when developing health-based SGRs for pathomechanics, etiopathogenesis and biofeedback. This work relates to preliminary studies on balance challenges manifested in pathologies of the central nervous system. As technology advancements seek to augment human sensory contact between virtual and real worlds this may impact on how virtual environments are used and designed in future. As a consequence heightened sensory (or lack of thereof) may result in falls, for example users with vestibular disorder – because postural stability is a key aspect of motor ability that allows individuals to sustain and maintain the desired physical position of their body Here, our investigation is specific to functional correspondence of the incidental properties in human body sway between healthy subjects and subjects with dyslexia. Our early results suggest postural sway between healthy subjects and those with mild disorders can be distinguished. 1. INTRODUCTION The human body is an inherently unstable system [1]. Without our motor system continuingly correcting for imbalance, one will be at risk of falling. Research indicates neuro-musculoskeletal disorders relate to some degeneration in human balance [2] and are not simply a normality of aging. The human central nervous system is highly adept at compensating, and until deprived temporarily, a loss function due to the pathology may not become apparent. Human balance, postural control during standing and walking rely on “working memory” [3]. Intrinsically linked to motor development are biologically significant activities of posture maintenance and locomotion [4], [5] that concerns the learning of new motor skills [6]. Recent studies also show posture can influence cognitive development in infants [7]. To date, how humans maintain balance is not fully understood. In particular, balance disorders due to neuro-related pathologies remain open [8]. Understanding how the sensory, nervous and motor system work to generate compensation strategies and quantifying its status at any point in time could reveal underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and deficits. Over the years, digital games have increasingly been deployed as an alternative to tackle serious issues. Health games largely remain focused on improving physical and mental health, well-being, adherence to treatment regiments and patient management. However, health games for research could help uncover pathological disorders, such as those associated with human balance. Being more narrowly focused and designed to achieve individual-level goals these new game modes are ideally suited to exploit specific programs or tools for meta-analysis and it is in this aspect that the reported work is aligned. The initiative begins by investigating balance challenges for users in virtual environments (e.g. digital games) who may have a pathophysiological deficit. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the implications both at the level of the virtual