Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOSDescription:
This project aims at Parkinson’s patient using a sensor around the ankle as if it was a clock. When the sensor detects a cut-off distance between the feet, which represents that the distance between the feet is reduced to an unsafe level, the patient received a tactile stimulus that would remind them to move the feet away again. The objective of this project is to study the system’s applicability, initially to perceive if the patients adhere to the strategy after a period of usage and no longer feels it as intrusive, and also to study the effect on the safety in gait in the day to day usage or the impact on the frequency of falls.
Outcome:
> Ankle-based sensor system capable of measure the stride width;
> Tactile cueing for gait and balance capable of providing a tactile stimulus in case of small stride width;
> Evaluation of the system with patients with PD in ambulatory conditions.
Author: Joana Sousa
Type: MSc thesis
Partner: FCT NOVA – Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa
Year: 2020