A shoe mounted system for parkinsonian gait detection and real-time feedback

Abstract

Conditions like Parkinson’s disease (PD) remain largely a mystery in the way that they affect individuals even under today’s modern medical practices. One of the main secondary effects associated with PD can be seen in issues with the individual’s gait and is referred to as Freezing of Gait (FoG). The symptom often responds poorly and sometimes paradoxically to treatment with dopaminergic medication that is traditionally used to treat the other symptoms of PD. However, a linkage found that FoG, during walking, results when the sequence effect is superimposed on a reduced step length. Prior research has focused on the development of technologies that use audio or visual feedback to help the individual adjust their gait. These systems may not be deployable in real-world environments since people rely on sight and sound for navigation. This research proposes the development of a system to measure step length in real-time and to provide haptic feedback to offset the progression of FoG episodes.