Mobile system could prevent freezing of gait in Parkinson’s patients

CuPID

Many patients in the latter stage of Parkinson’s disease are at high risk of dangerous falls. One major reason is the disabling symptom referred to as Freezing of Gait (FoG), which is a brief episode of an inability to step forward that typically occurs during gait initiation or when turning while walking. Patients who experience FoG often lose their independence, which further degenerates their quality of life.

CuPiD consists of a smartphone app that harnesses wearable sensors, audio biofeedback, and external cueing to provide intense motivational training tailored to each patient.The home-based, personalized rehabilitation tool called CuPiD was born to “fight FoG.” It is a technology project three years in the making, developed by an eight-member European Union-funded consortium including researchers at Tel Aviv University.

CuPiD consists of a smartphone app that harnesses wearable sensors, audio biofeedback, and external cueing to provide intense motivational training tailored to each patient. It also utilizes small sensors placed on a patients’ shoes that measure a person’s gait in real-time, and if certain deviations from a pre-set norm emerge, an audio message alerts the patient to change his or her walking pattern immediately to avoid a dangerous situation.

The application features two different modes: the first improves the overall gait pattern with the positive feedback, and the second one which helps patients avoid and free themselves of FoG if they are already stuck.

CuPiD also allows medical professionals to remotely monitor results of the app usage.Also, the system allows medical professionals to remotely monitor results of the app usage.

“FoG is a leading cause of disability in patients with Parkinson’s disease,” said professor Jeffrey Hausdorff of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Center for Movement, Cognition, and Mobility at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (TASMC). “It often occurs during ‘walking transitions’ associated with turning, starting, stopping, and moving in open spaces. It can also occur when people approach narrow spaces, such as doors or elevators, and in crowded places. Recognizing such situations is a very powerful key for prevention – and this is one of the features of this program.”

The CuPiD app just completed its pilot run and is being fine-tuned for more widespread use. The study involved 40 patients, 20 of whom used the CuPiD app and 20 who carried out conventional exercises and did not use the app. The results are promising and the investigators are currently exploring the possibility of a larger follow-up study to further demonstrate the app’s efficacy.