Objective: The aim of this study was to measure gait parameters of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in everyday life situations and improve hypokinetic gait using an insole that measures pressure and acceleration and provides online feedback via vibration.
Background: Gait dysfunction poses a core symptom of PD increasing morbidity and mortality in patients. Aiming at reducing these impacts, it has been shown, that besides pharmacological interventions, feedback (FB) on gait can improve gait of patients with PD. Feedback in the form of small cues in manyfold ways can be administered in a close-loop manner following a distortion in gait. With such systems primarily established in simple parkours or with many sensors on patients’ bodies, few studies provide patients with closed-loop FB in everyday life situations.
Method: To measure bipedal gait parameters, we used two insoles containing eight pressure sensors and an Inertial Measurement Unit, each. FB was delivered by a vibrating motor built in the sole, triggered by an algorithm that recognizes hypokinesia via stride length and the heel-strike-angle (HAS) calculated in quasi real time. Ten Patients in OFF and ON medication state completed a parcours twice per medication state, once with and once without FB. Each trial was filmed to video-label the data concerning the different situations occurring in the parcours.
Results: This study primarily investigated the efficacy of feedback on the HSA and stride length, using the straight walking steps of patients in ON and OFF in a mixed model approach. Both HSA and stride length improved with feedback ON and OFF medication. Besides these overall effects, there were also immediate feedback effects. When comparing the first derivatives between successive strides of the ten strides before and five strides after cues, we observed a significant improvement of the trend over time of HAS and stride length following FB.
Conclusion: The results suggests that feedback administered via vibration of an inlay sole can attenuate the bradykinesia observable in Parkinsonian gait. These findings highlight the potential for closed-loop control to improve gait dysfunction in PD and enhance the quality of life for patients.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
P. Kirsch, M. Helbig, S. Baudrexel, C. Kell. Closed-loop gait improvement in Parkinson’s Disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/closed-loop-gait-improvement-in-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed November 23, 2024.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/closed-loop-gait-improvement-in-parkinsons-disease/