Real-time gait monitoring for Parkinson Disease

The ability to monitor the gait of Parkinson Disease patients and provide correct biofeedback can help prevent falls, detect freezing; and from social perspective lead to better quality of life. In this work, a wearable wireless gait monitoring/assessment system is developed to assist the PD patients rehabilitation by providing biofeedback, such as voice alerts and guidance. The devices will continuously collect the information during walking; if the device detects any abnormal gait movement or difficulties in walking, voice feedback will be given through earphones. Low cost, wearable, and wireless integrated sensors are used. The integrated sensors incorporate tri-axial accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. The prototype system includes two integrated sensors located at each ankle position to track gait movements. A body sensor is positioned near the cervical vertebra to monitor the body posture. The system is also able to measure parameters which might be difficult to measure manually, such as maximum acceleration of the patients during standing up, and the time it takes from sit to stand. Experimental trial runs on PD patients demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.