SMART EquiTest® System from Lake Erie Med!

The SMART EquiTest® objectively evaluates balance and postural stability under dynamic test conditions to reflect the challenges of daily life and provides training in a dynamic environment with visual biofeedback.

Objective Assessment Protocols
The standardized protocols available on the SMART EquiTest® system enable the clinician to systematically manipulate somatosensory and visual information, and enhances the ability to diagnose and treat problems of imbalance and postural instability, especially for those patients who previously proved difficult to diagnose.

Sensory Organization Test (SOT) - Identifies sensory dysfunction and abnormal reliance on a sense providing inaccurate orientation information.
Motor Control Test (MCT) - Provides evidence of a CNS disorder and/or documents the functional impact of musculoskeletal injury/disability.
Adaptation Test (ADT) - Assesses a patient’s ability to adapt to unstable surface conditions.

The SOT, MCT and ADT comprise the core battery of tests recognized as Computerized Dynamic Posturography (CDP), the gold standard for diagnosing the functional impairments underlying balance disorders.
Dynamic Training Protocols
Interactive, functional training exercises using visual biofeedback, coupled with sensitive, real-time monitoring of movement motivates patients to achieve greater balance control faster.

Exercises can be tailored to meet individual patient needs and can be progressed as the patient’s capabilities improve. Proprioceptive/ sensorimotor training can be enhanced as the clinician can independently set the movement of the support surface and/or visual surround:

• Responsive: The surface and/or surround move in response to, and as a result of, patient movement.

• Variably responsive: The surface and/or surround move in response to the patient, but the degree of movement varies each time the patient movements.

• Random: The surface and/or surround movement is computer driven and is completely unpredictable so patients must constantly adjust their balance in response to the changing environment.

Additional Capabilities
With the optional long forceplate, the SMART EquiTest® system can provide the additional functional assessments and retraining capabilities as included on the Balance Master® system.

The Head Shake-Sensory Organization Test (HS-SOT) can be added to the SMART EquiTest® system for objective identification of abnormalities in the patient’s use of vestibular inputs for balance while actively moving the head.

An optional EMG accessory is available, which the clinician may use the with the support surface rotation as the stimulus to obtain a detailed analysis of CNS and motor function. The combination of the MCT and evoked postural responses help identify lesions within the central and spinal pathways, and evaluate the functional effectiveness of a patient’s postural movements.

Automated Documentation
The system automatically documents initial assessments and training compliance for verification of patient progress and functional outcomes.