Today we started the day off early walking to the Bilbao school of engineering. We listened to a lecture from Mikel about the different body systems involved in balance such as the muscular skeletal system, vestibular system, and visual cues. We talked about different conditions and injuries that can affect each of these. Additionally, we talked about autonomic corrections that each of these systems make to compensate for a loss of balance. If one of these systems is impaired then it effects the rest as they constantly work in a feedback loop with each other. After we learned about how the body manages balance we reviewed several tests doctors and nurses use to measure balance to evaluate if a patient is a fall risk. We quickly found some issues with these tests. The tests used rather vague language and were highly subjective. To further test the efficacy of the balance assessment we blindfolded ourselves, paired up and assessed each other. Pretty quickly we saw that these test results varied based on the person doing the assessment.

After we assessed each other’s balance we looked at the Oreka device that is currently undergoing clinical trials. The device works to get objective data to measure patient balance. The device uses multiple sensors to measure the center of mass and the center of pressure of a patient while standing ln the device. Also, the device moves anteriorly, posteriorly, laterally, and medially to see if a patient can maintain balance under sudden movements. A few people in our group got to test the machine out. It was very interesting and I think it could greatly benefit both the rehabilitation and diagnostic process of patients who have suffered an injury or a stroke.

After lunch we headed over to the Bilbao football stadium. We were given a tour. We got to go on the field, see the boxes, the locker rooms, the press rooms, and see the trophies. It was very cool to see all of the aspects of the stadium that I have not seen before. Following the tour the 19 of us walked over to the old city and got some Bilbao souvenirs to bring back home. It was another amazing day and I cannot believe we only have two days left.