New York University Experts Develop App To Examine Balance

Balance is part of everything we do—from sitting upright in a chair or crossing the street safely to throwing a baseball or doing ballet. But it can be disrupted by various health conditions and tends to decline as we age. Tisch dance professor Elizabeth Coker developed Home Balance Test, an app that uses a smartphone’s sensors to track how much a user sways. She teamed up with Steinhardt physical therapy professor Anat V. Lubetzky to test usability of this app when testing people remotely on a set of balancing tasks. Their long-term goal is that with the data the app collects, health providers will be able to identify those—particularly older adults—who need help to prevent falls, and researchers will be able build a better understanding of how balance varies across different groups.