Enhancing balance and gait in ageing populations through rapid and localized tactile feedback

通过快速和局部的触觉反馈增强老年人群的平衡和步态

• 批准号: 2712711
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2712711
• 关键词: Enhancing; balance; gait; ageing; populations

There is significant evidence that applying vibrations to the sole of the foot (Hijmans et al., 2008; Priplataet al., 2006) or the knee (Gravelle et al., 2002) improves balance in participants with peripheral neuropathy.This effect has been utilised in the form of vibrating insoles which contain embedded motors that provide asub-threshold level of noise signals (Priplata et al., 2003). This demonstrates a potential solution to degradations in balance ability due to peripheral neuropathy. This form of assistive technology is particularly useful asit is non-invasive and does not require input from the user, meaning it will not increase cognitive load on patients.This project will build on this idea to characterise the sensorimotor reflexes that are produced by preciselytimed and localised vibrations applied to the foot sole. Once these reflexes are better understood, computational models can be created to make predictions of how reflexes will impact posture and gait under a range oftasks and conditions. These predictions can then be used to implement control strategies embedded in smartinsoles which aim to improve balance.There are three main aims to this project.Measure tactile sensorimotor reflexes under naturalistic and varied conditions.Build a computational model that relates tactile feedback to muscle activations at the ankle.Use the model predictions to design and create an insole capable of providing targeted feedback thatimproves postural stability in both static positions and during walking.Overall, this project will combine computational modelling with existing smart insole technology to identifyand test potential feedback strategies that improve and correct balance and gait in people with peripheralneuropathy

有显著的证据表明，向脚底施加振动（Hijmans等人，2008; Priplataet al.，2006）或膝关节（Gravelle等人，这种效果已经以振动鞋垫的形式被利用，所述振动鞋垫包含提供亚阈值水平的噪声信号的嵌入式马达（Priplata等人，2003年）。这证明了由于周围神经病变引起的平衡能力退化的潜在解决方案。这种形式的辅助技术特别有用，因为它是非侵入性的，不需要用户输入，这意味着它不会增加患者的认知负荷。这个项目将建立在这个想法的基础上，以精确定时和局部振动施加到脚底产生的感觉运动反射。一旦更好地理解了这些反射，就可以创建计算模型来预测反射在一系列任务和条件下如何影响姿势和步态。这些预测可以用来实现嵌入智能鞋垫的控制策略，以改善平衡。该项目有三个主要目标：在自然和不同的条件下测量触觉感觉运动反射;建立一个计算模型，将触觉反馈与脚踝处的肌肉激活联系起来;使用模型预测设计和创建一个能够提供有针对性反馈的鞋垫，以改善姿势稳定性。总的来说，该项目将联合收割机计算建模与现有的智能鞋垫技术相结合，以识别和测试潜在的反馈策略，改善和纠正周围神经病变患者的平衡和步态