Overcoming gait freeze in Parkinson’s disease using responsive cueing.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating responsive vibration cueing modalities from a wearable device to overcome gait freezing in Parkinson's disease.
IRAS ID
216723
Contact name
Clinical Trials and Research Governance Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 28 days
Research summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that impairs movement control. Gait freezing is an inability to walk spontaneously and continuously that affects ~38% of people with PD, reducing quality of life and increasing fall risk. Cueing with visual, auditory or somatosensory stimuli is a remarkably effective way to prevent gait freezing. However, current cueing devices/methods have profound limitations, such as being cumbersome, impractical, non-responsive, and/or requiring user input.
We have manufactured the non-invasive wearable GaitThaw device to test if vibration cues, delivered in response to gait freezing, can improve walking quality during PD. We seek ethical approval to undertake a small clinical study to test the feasibility of this cueing method in PD patients, to determine the optimal location and pattern of vibration cues for preventing gait freeze, and to develop algorithms to recognise movement signatures (using data obtained with our device) indicative of gait freezing. We aim to recruit up to 48 PD patients (some participants may stay in the study for multiple stages) that suffer from regular (daily) gait freezing, but are able to walk with minimal assistance for short periods.
Stages A, B and C (part 1) will be run at a private physiotherapy clinic: trained physiotherapists, who specialise in PD treatment, will work one-to-one with each participant during their study sessions, which will last up to 1 hour. Participants will wear the GaitThaw device modules (similar size and weight to a smartphone) on the lower leg and undertake a series of walking and movement exercises typically encountered in everyday life (such as navigating a doorway), interspersed with rest periods. Stage C (part 2) will involve patients taking the device home for 1 week, to test the effect of responsive vibration cueing in the everyday environment.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SW/0253
Date of REC Opinion
10 Jan 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion