Balance Metrix is an Australian business established in 2022 to market the Balance Mat – a breakthrough in balance measurement. We assist professionals in the exercise physiology, physiotherapy, medical, neurological, balance research and falls risk assessment communities to test balance in minutes using real-time Australian technology. This enables our clients to deliver nuanced healthcare by measuring and monitoring people’s balance in conjunction with exercise and treatment interventions.

Now you can measure people’s balance electronically

Our world-first Australian balance measurement system enables allied health and medical professionals to test people’s 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.

Why measure balance?

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. It can also be used for monitoring the balance of people with medical conditions like diabetes and neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease.

Results 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 and connected to the internet. At the end of each test the balance data is saved online in the Balance Mat test results system alongside patient biodata, known health conditions and other relevant notes for comparison over time.

The Balance Mat works on a computer or laptop running Windows 10 or 11. About Balance Mat systems – see three different choices

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. 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.

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 move around.

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 underway

Current scientific research projects using the Neurometric Balance Mat are:

• a major population health study being undertaken 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 Senior Lecturer and human movement researcher Dr Maryam Ghahramani and her PhD student Abishek Shrestha at the University of Canberra.

Planning for a balance research project underway

An esteemed team of researchers from James Cook University (JCU) in Townsville has reached ethical approval stage on a new balance research project that will test the Neurometric Balance Mat and a force plate simultaneously. Senior Lecturer Physiotherapy Dr Carol Flavell is the chief investigator (pictured, centre, with co-investigators Professor Anthony Leicht and Dr Moira Smith). The Balance Mat will be set up on top of a gold standard force plate for a study of older people’s balance that will also assess its validity, reliability and acceptability to allied health clients. To learn more see our blog.