Sensor assembly for postural control balance prosthesis

Over 90 million Americans will seek medical attention for dizziness, a malfunction of the inner ear, at least once in their lifetime. Relying on the low weight and excellent performance available in 1997 Draper Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) inertial instruments, we developed and successfully tested a prototype vestibular prosthesis. Balance-impaired patients who were unable to stand unaided stood with the prosthesis. Multiple-axes tilt modules are now being tested at three sites. Where previous papers focused on patient test results and medical diagnoses where the prosthesis could be advantageous, this paper documents the engineering details required for detecting vertical with MEMS instruments.