Mobility Rehab: A Biofeedback System for Mobility Rehabilitation for Older Adults

Project Summary Mobility limitations including gait and balance impairments are common in older adults and are a major cause of falls and reduced quality of life Although laboratory studies show that biofeedback during exercise training can improve motor performance physical therapists do not have access to an overground gait biofeedback system for their patients We will develop Mobility Rehab a visual biofeedback system for personalized rehabilitation in which therapists can characterize gait determine which gait condition to train and select the speci c metric to target for training overground or on a treadmill The system will provide reports that show clinically actionable measures of gait and balance This year project has two speci c aims AIM I Develop and validate a visual biofeedback system This aim will be achieved with two milestones Milestone Develop and validate real time algorithms to calculate clinically actionable gait metrics including double support time step time asymmetry foot clearance arm swing pitch angle at heel strike and trunk lateral stability during gait We will validate the new algorithms with a gold standard Motion Analysis system in older adults with gait impairments Milestone Develop a user interface for Mobility Rehab to display real time and longitudinal gait metrics for therapists and their patients AIM II Demonstrate the feasibility of Mobility Rehab for gait training in older adults This aim will be achieved with two milestones Milestone Evaluate the immediate e ects of Mobility Rehab on gait training in adults with gait impairments Milestone Evaluate the clinical usability of Mobility Rehab in a physical therapy practice Project Narrative We will use this Phase I grant to develop Mobility Rehab a exible biofeedback system to provide visual biofeedback for gait training overground or on a treadmill for older adults develop reports that show clinically actionable measures of gait and balance and thoroughly verify and validate our technology