Mobility Rehab: A Biofeedback System for Mobility Rehabilitation for Older Adults

Apdm, Inc., Portland OR

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Project Summary Mobility limitations including gait and balance impairments are common in older adults and are a major cause of falls and reduced quality of life. Although laboratory studies show that biofeedback during exercise training can improve motor performance, physical therapists do not have access to an overground gait biofeedback system for their patients. We will develop Mobility Rehab, a visual biofeedback system for personalized rehabilitation in which therapists can characterize gait, determine which gait condition to train, and select the speci?c metric to target for training overground or on a treadmill. The system will provide reports that show clinically actionable measures of gait and balance. This 1-year project has two speci?c aims: AIM I. Develop and validate a visual biofeedback system. This aim will be achieved with two milestones: Milestone 1: Develop and validate real-time algorithms to calculate clinically actionable gait metrics including double support time, step time asymmetry, foot clearance, arm swing, pitch angle at heel-strike, and trunk lateral stability during gait. We will validate the new algorithms with a gold-standard Motion Analysis system in 15 older adults with gait impairments. Milestone 2: Develop a user-interface for Mobility Rehab to display real-time and longitudinal gait metrics for therapists and their patients. AIM II. Demonstrate the feasibility of Mobility Rehab for gait training in older adults. This aim will be achieved with two milestones: Milestone 3: Evaluate the immediate e?ects of Mobility Rehab on gait training in adults with gait impairments. Milestone 4: Evaluate the clinical usability of Mobility Rehab in a physical therapy practice.