Measurement of the Reaction Time in the 30-S Chair Stand Test using the Accelerometer Sensor Available in off-the-Shelf Mobile Devices

摘要

The 30-s Chair Stand Test (CST) is commonly used with elderly people for assessing the lower limbs strength, which can provide sufficient information regarding the general mobility and fall risk. The mobile devices are widely used for the acquisition of the different physical and physiological data from the sensors available, including the accelerometer. In this way, the aim of the present study consisted on the development of an automatic method for the measurement of the reaction time (RT) based on the 30-s CST using a mobile device. Besides that, the data acquisition through an accelerometer allows the assessment of different variables, such as the maximum values of the acceleration, the instant velocity, the maximum force and the peak power, that may contribute to a better understanding of the physical demands during the 30-s CST performance. The results presented in this study demonstrated that the calculation of the RT and the different variables during the 30-s CST performance is possible, opening new possibilities for the development of scientific projects, namely those that encompasses the motor and cognitive training of elderly people.