Dr Trevor Clark is the Leader of the Better Balance Initiative by Balance Metrix

Kicking off the Better Balance Initiative

Balance Metrix is thrilled to announce that sport scientist, strength & conditioning coach and former professional footballer Dr Trevor Clark has agreed to be the Leader of our Better Balance Initiative. His role will be to mentor up to 10 Balance Metrix allied health partners who each run a pop-up Better Balance Clinic & Healthcheck (that includes collecting balance metrics with the Balance Mat) plus a Better Balance Course in their local residential aged care facility or community centre.

The aim is to improve participants’ strength and balance by the end of a 12-week, expert-led, one-hour-per-week, structured exercise course. We are fairly confident of achieving strength improvements as a result of the Initiative. In regard to postural sway, balance and falls risk mitigation improvements, Dr Clark, participants and sponsors will enter a new and interesting discovery phase. If results are positive, there will be ample room for expansion in aged care and community settings.

Charlie Gordon

Nitish Mathew

Saili Deodhar

Kicking off the Initiative we have Masters-qualified exercise physiologist Charlie Gordon and consultant physiotherapists Nitish Mathew and Saili Deodhar (pictured l to r). There are 7 more spots available. Enquiries: Margaret Metz margaret@balancemetrix.com.au

Here’s what Clinical AEP Danny Miller says about the Balance Mat:

View more testimonials here.

“As a mobile exercise physiologist, the Balance Mat has become an indispensable tool in my clinical practice. This highly portable and user-friendly device enables precise, objective assessment of clients’ balance both pre- and post-intervention, providing valuable data to guide treatment plans and evaluate outcomes. The ability to quantify balance performance not only supports evidence-based practice but also enhances client engagement by offering tangible proof of progress over time.

What sets the Balance Mat apart is its utility in multidisciplinary care. The detailed reports I generate from the balance assessments are highly regarded by GPs and specialists, who appreciate the objective metrics reflecting their patients’ functional improvements. These reports strengthen collaborative relationships by ensuring transparency and demonstrating the clinical effectiveness of exercise-based interventions.

From a scientific perspective, the Balance Mat aligns well with current best practices in balance assessment and rehabilitation. Its integration of reliable metrics and ease of use makes it a practical and effective tool for both clinicians and clients. For any exercise professional seeking to deliver data-driven, outcome-focused care, the Balance Mat is a valuable asset.”

Clinical Exercise Physiologist Danny Miller is Director of Rehab on the Road and Founder of The EP Network.

How does the technology work?

The Balance Mat enables a series of 20-second balance tests in various well-known balance testing stances: normal (with feet apart), feet together, tandem, semi tandem, left foot, right foot. The photographs below are of the Multimetric Balance Mat, which does not have the feet together stance. A sensor in the Balance Mat uses fibre-optic cable and proprietary algorithms to sense and record the continuous postural adjustments (or postural sway) of a person standing on the mat: the higher the score the poorer the person’s balance.

You can manage what you can measure.

Our world-first Australian balance measurement system enables allied health and medical professionals and researchers to test people’s postural sway or “balance” in a sequence of 20 second tests. Clients are asked to stand as still as they can on a lightweight computerised floor mat with their arms by their sides.

The Balance Mat is an excellent outcome-measure, exercise-prescription and rehabilitation tool. It can help determine falls risk and assist in rehabilitation after stroke, heart attack and injury, particularly injury resulting in left- and right-leg balance asymmetry and concussion. It can also be used for monitoring the balance of people with medical conditions like diabetes and neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

The Balance Mat is a bonus for aged care service providers since it classifies residents into low, medium and high postural sway categories, which equates to low, medium and high falls risk. Balance Mat test reports can be added to residents’ individualised care plans. Having these balance metrics at their disposal enables providers to deploy their falls risk mitigation resources where they are most needed, potentially saving money (by not treating every older person as having a high falls risk) and helping nursing and care staff members to do their jobs more easily.

Results are displayed in real time and stored online.

Results are displayed in real time as a moving graph and score on a computer or laptop running Windows 10 or 11 or macOS and connected to the internet. At the end of each test the balance data is saved online in the Balance Mat test results system at www.balancemat.org for viewing, alongside patient biodata, known health conditions and other relevant notes for comparison over time.

TGA approved

The Balance Mat is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). It received Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval as a Class 1 medical device in December 2021.

Easy to use and portable

The Balance Mat measures 500mm x 700mm and is only 6mm thick, making it easy, safe and non-threatening for older people to stand on and lightweight enough for practitioners to carry around with their laptop, especially if they run a mobile service.

University validated

The Balance Mat has been validated by university testing with high correlations against other balance testing devices such as force plates and inertial sensors.

Balance research currently underway

Current scientific research projects using the Neurometric Balance Mat are:

• a major population health study led by Professor Ecosse Lamoureux at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). Professor Lamoureux is using the Balance Mat and other complementary mobility and falls tests to assess the balance and postural stability of 2,000 Singaporeans; and

• a study of the balance and fall risk of older adults being undertaken by University of Canberra PhD student and Balance Mat Pty Ltd electronics engineer Abishek Shrestha under the supervision of Senior Lecturer and human movement researcher Dr Maryam Ghahramani, Professor of Robotics Damith Herath and Associated Professor of Physiotherapy Dr Angie Fearon. Read more in this Hello Leaders story: Machine learning aims to transform falls prediction in aged care.

New research in the pipeline

Sports scientist and former professional Rugby player Dr Trevor Clark and hospital emergency department clinical nurse specialist Dr Doug King – both prolific concussion researchers – have taken delivery of their BESS Balance Mats, conducted a feasibility study and lodged their Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) application with Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand for a study that will examine the incidence of injuries in female rugby league and roller derby participants.

Congratulations to Dr Carol Flavell and team on ethical approval for balance research

Researchers from James Cook University in Townsville have received ethical approval for balance testing research scheduled to begin in New Year 2025. The team of physiotherapy and sports science researchers is led by Balance Metrix Innovation Partner Dr Carol Flavell (pictured, centre, with Prof. Anthony Leicht and Dr Moira Smith – Dr Kenji Doma not present). They will compare balance assessments made using the Neurometric Balance Mat, a force plate and traditional methods. To learn more see our blog.

If you’re organising a special event like the one run at Dee Why Beach by Danyel Miller from Rehab on the Road, you might want to take out a two-month guest subscription. You can read about what team Balance did on Ian Bergman’s blog and see photographs here (above & right) of Abishek Shrestha, Dr Sophie Scamps MP, Danny Miller and exercise physiology colleagues celebrating World Clinical Exercise Physiology Day on 23 September 2024. Incidentally, Danny Miller was the first clinical AEP to use the Balance Mat at the beach (see her video).

Balance Mat for GPs

Balance Mat inventor Ian Bergman (pictured far left) has been testing the postural sway of patients at Hastings Medical Centre, Wauchope since October 2024. Long-time Balance Mat user Dr Alireza Ahmadvand (left), who has a professional commitment to empowering healthcare professionals in the digital health space, wanted to learn more. Dr Reza interviewed Ian on 30 January 2025 for an upcoming podcast aimed at General Practitioners. You can view the transcript here.