Acceptance study on Parkinson’s disease with STAPPONE sensor soles
In the study “Exploring a New Cueing Device in People Who Experience Freezing of Gait: Acceptance of a Study Design“ by the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, the use of stappone sensor soles together with the cueing device CUE1 of the British start-up Charco Neurotech, Ltd. was investigated for its acceptance by patients.
“Exploring a New Cueing Device in People Who Experience Freezing of Gait: Acceptance of a Study Design,”examined a study design involving people with idiomatic Parkinson’s syndrome. The goal was to determine whether the proposed design using a vibrotactile stimulation device (SVSD) and smart sensor soles is acceptable for people with Parkinson’s disease.
Starting point
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that often occurs in older people. One of the symptoms is the so-called “freezing of gait” (FoG)¹, in which patients “freeze”, and cannot continue the desired movement even though they want to.
FoG not only reduces the patients’ mobility, but also their independence and therefore their quality of life.
There are various compensatory strategies, such as the use of “cueing” and “high frequency vibrotactile stimulation”. This portable, non-invasive device was attached to the sternum using an adhesive patch for targeted stimulation. It features a quiet electric motor to generate high frequency vibrotactile stimulation.
Objective and outcome
“The study’s objective was to investigate whether a study design where the above-described SVSD are used together with gait analysis sensor insoles is accepted by participants while performing the FoG score and 10-meter walking test. The aim was to collect information and participant feedback to investigate in further studies the effectiveness of the SVSD and whether the gait analysis sensor insoles can be used to evaluate an effect on FoG in people with PD.“²
In this study, stride length, cadence and speed are important parameters that could be recorded objectively, quickly and without a gait lab using STAPPONE Research. STAPPONE Research consists of the intelligent STAPPONE sensor soles and the associated software. The soles are simply inserted into comfortable shoes (e.g. sports shoes) and measure the foot pressure load of the participant. The software provides live biofeedback in real time as well as information on the relevant movement parameters.
STAPPONE Research provided an important contribution to the IMC FH Krems study and received extremely positive feedback as a research tool. Read more about it in the interview with the lead researcher Agnes Wilhelm.
This project will be presented in detail at the World Congress for Physiotherapy in Dubai in June. The IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems is currently planning further projects with a focus on Parkinson’s disease based on this project with the stappone sensor soles.
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¹A. Wilhelm, T. Riedl, C. Paumann, J. Janssen. 2022. „Exploring a New Cueing Device in People Who Experience Freezing of Gait: Acceptance of a Study Design“.
² ebd.
