preprints.org > engineering > electrical and electronic engineering > doi: 10.20944/preprints201809.0211.v1

Preprint Case Report Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Version 1 : Received: 11 September 2018 / Approved: 12 September 2018 / Online: 12 September 2018 (05:46:41 CEST)

Gait abnormalities are one of the distinguishing symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) that contribute to fall risk. Our study compares the gait parameters of people with PD when they walk through a predefined course without assistance, with a conventional walker, and with a motorized walker under different speed cues. Six PD subjects were recruited at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine to participate in this study. Spatial posture and gait data of the test subjects were collected via a VICON motion capture system. We developed a framework to process and extract gait features and applied statistical analysis on these features to examine the significance of the findings. The results showed that motorized walkers with haptic cues significantly improved gait symmetry of PD subjects. Specifically, the asymmetry index of the gait cycle time was reduced from 6.7% when walking without assistance to 0.56% and below when using a walker. Furthermore, the double support time of a gait cycle was reduced by 4.88% compared to walking without assistance.

Parkinson's disease; motorized walker; haptic cue; gait pattern; statistics study

Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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