Study Rationale:
Gait impairments are common among people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), leading to an increased fall risk and a reduced quality of life. More and more people are being diagnosed with PD, which means that more people need physical therapy. Wearable technologies can help people with PD exercise at home to improve their health and mobility. Gait tutor system is a wearable system that precisely measures a person’s gait and then delivers real-time vocal instructions based on personalized gait parameters and targets (e.g., “increase your step length”). In this study, we will assess the effectiveness of using this system during daily walking activities for 12 months.
Hypothesis:
We hypothesize that the continued use of the Gait Tutor system, delivering real-time personalized vocal instructions on multiple aspects of gait over a one-year period will significantly improve gait, mobility, and health related quality of life in people with PD and that this improvement will be larger than that seen in a control group that receives general instructions about their walking.
Study Design:
People with Parkinson's disease will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group will receive the intervention. They will be encouraged to use the Gait Tutor system whenever they walk in their home and community, at least 3 times/week for one year. The other group will receive a dedicated mobile application that encourages improvement in daily walking amount and physical activity. We will assess all subjects before and after the one-year intervention.
Impact on Diagnosis/Treatment of Parkinson’s disease:
The results of this study will provide a home-based solution for gait training, allowing patients with PD to engage in effective rehabilitation in their everyday environment. This approach could improve mobility, enhance treatment adherence, and offer continuous monitoring, supporting personalized care and better management of the disease. A personalized approach is achieved at costs that are much lower than the of costs of the time of an expert physical therapist.
Next Steps for Development:
If the results of the study confirm that this intelligent system improves gait performance, the Gait Tutor can be made readily available as an effective form of tele-rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s disease. Further research should explore potential integration with other rehabilitation therapies to optimize patient outcomes and the use of this system as “preventive medicine” among people with very early and mild PD.