Welcome to Balance Metrix

Balance Metrix is an Australian business established in 2022 to market the Balance Mat – a breakthrough in balance measurement. The Balance Mat was created by Ian Bergman, owner of the Balance Metrix business and managing director of the Balance Mat Pty Ltd company, which manufactures Balance Mat systems, owns the intellectual property, maintains the Balance Mat database, drives research & development (R&D) and provides technical support to Balance Mat users.

As the supplier of Balance Mat systems, Balance Metrix assists 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.

While the mission of Balance Metrix is to enable our clients to provide nuanced healthcare, the mission of Balance Mat Pty Ltd is to help community members live well longer through balance measurement combined with expert-led exercise and reablement interventions. Together we are team Balance!

Now you can measure people’s balance electronically

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

View more testimonials here.

Clinical Exercise Physiologist Danny Miller, Director of Rehab on the Road

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

“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.”

Balance measurement results graph on computer screen
Laptop showing Balance Metrix graph
The Balance Mat works on a computer or laptop running Windows 10 or 11 or macOS. It is a quick, easy and portable way of testing a client’s postural sway or “balance” – the higher the score the poorer the balance and higher the falls risk.

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.

Multimetric Balance Mat normal feet apart stance
Multimetric Balance Mat - semi tandem stance
Multimetric Balance Mat - tandem stance
Multimetric Balance Mat - left foot stance
Multimetric Balance Mat - right foot stance

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.

Balance-Metrix-Logo-Innovation Partner
Balance Mat researchers-Anthony-Leicht-Carol-Flavell-and-Moira-Smith-from-JCU

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.

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Get repeatable graph and score data to support your exercise prescription, falls prevention or research practices

Recently Balance Mat pricing was reduced drastically. It followed 3 months of market feedback collected by Balance Metrix Biomedical Technology Advocate Catriona Watson-Kennedy. You can now subscribe via the Balance Metrix Shop page for as little as $42.50 per month after your one-time setup fee of $180. From 1 November 2024 there are no lock-in contracts on subscriptions either. We now offer allied health practitioners, general practitioners, university researchers and academics a range of very reasonable subscription and purchase options.

The single-test Unimetric Balance Mat – a quick and easy falls risk assessment tool that is non-threatening for elderly people to stand on – and the StandSure BalanceMore neurological rehabilitation kit – are also available via special order. Enquiries: margaret@balancemetrix.com.au.

Dr Sophie Scamps MP takes great interest in Abishek Shrestha's work testing balance for World CEP Day at Dee Why Beach.

If you’re not sure about the feasibility of the Balance Mat for your practice, you might want to take advantage of our new two-month guest subscription for a special event like the one organised at Dee Why Beach by Danyel Miller from Rehab on the Road. 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 her 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).

Dr Sophie Scamps MP about to cut the ribbon on World Clinical Exercise Physiology Day at Dee Why Beach