Walker Monitor to Inhibit Freezing of Gait by Individuals with Parkinson's Diseas

描述(由申请人提供)：冻结步态(雾)影响到全国约100万帕金森氏症患者中的大多数，并导致患者描述为“双脚粘在地上”的运动停止。雾最常发生在帕金森氏症的成熟阶段，导致失去平衡和严重跌倒。这些跌倒往往会导致老年人严重受伤甚至死亡。拟议的项目解决方案是通过确保步态中适当使用步行器，并治疗帕金森氏症患者使用滚动式步行器时可能发生的冰冻发作，来改善这一脆弱患者群体的步行安全。依靠滚动式步行器获得平衡和支撑，并且没有正确使用该设备的个人，摔倒的风险更高。当步行者从冻结的开始阶段进入“前倾”姿势，并且不能站直自己时，步行者可能会被推得离身体更远，导致摔倒。拟议的第一阶段研究设备将通过使用红外距离传感器来监测身体位置，并向用户提供感官反馈来纠正他们的姿势，从而准确有效地检测冻结并打破其全面冻结。我们还将对潜在用户进行试验，以确定该设备在防止雾发作从而防止虚弱坠落方面的有效性。预计的结果是一种能够准确检测冰冻插曲(忽略假阳性)的设备，然后提供打破冰冻全面开始的感官线索。研究团队由几位资深人士组成，其中包括生物医学工程师和概念验证设备发明人Pi Shawn George；辅助技术和医疗仪器开发专家Richard Goldberg博士；拥有20年物理治疗师经验并通过美国物理治疗协会董事会认证的神经临床专家的物理治疗师Linda Cates；以及拥有20多年为各种残障人士设计、开发、处方、提供和培训辅助技术经验的Kevin Caves，ME，ATP，RET。 与公共健康相关：丧失独立活动能力是导致其他功能衰退的一个关键指标。丧失行动能力已被证明预示着老年人死亡率的增加。拟议的设备将帮助残疾人士保持行动能力并降低死亡率。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Freezing of Gait (FOG) effects the majority of the approximately one million individuals who have Parkinson's disease nationwide and causes a cessation of movement that patients describe as feeling as if their "feet are glued to the ground". FOG most often occurs in the mature stages of Parkinson's disease and results in a loss of balance and severe falls. These falls often cause serious injury or even death in elderly individuals. The proposed project solution is to improve walking safety for this vulnerable patient population by ensuring appropriate use of a walker during gait, and treating freezing episodes that can occur when an individual with Parkinson's disease uses a rolling walker. Individuals who rely on a rolling walker for balance and support and do not use the device appropriately are at an increased risk for falls. When the individual gets into a "forward-leaning" posture from the beginning stages of a freeze and is unable to right their self, the walker can be pushed farther away from the body, resulting in a fall. The proposed device for Phase I research will accurately and effectively detect a freeze and break its full onset, via the use of infrared distance sensors that monitor body position, and sensory feedback provided to the user to correct their posture. We will also perform trials with potential users to determine device effectiveness in preventing FOG episodes and thus preventing debilitating falls. The expected result is a device able to accurately detect a freezing episode (ignoring false positives), and then provide sensory cues that break the full onset of the freeze. Several well-qualified individuals make up the research team, including PI Shawn George, biomedical engineer and inventor of the proof-of-concept device; Dr. Richard Goldberg, an expert in the development of assistive technology and medical instrumentation; physical therapist Linda Cates, who has 20 years of experience as physical therapist and is a Board Certified Neurlogical Clinical Specialist through the American Physical Therapy Association; and Kevin Caves, ME, ATP, RET, who has 20+ years experience in the design, development, prescription, provision and training of assistive technology for people with a variety of disabilities. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The loss of independent mobility is a key indicator in general de-conditioning leading to other functional declines. Loss of mobility has been shown to be predictive of increased mortality in older adults. The proposed device will help individuals with disability to maintain mobility and decrease mortality.