Synchronized Tactile Stimulation on Upper Limbs Using a Wearable Robot for Gait Assistance in Patients With Parkinson's Disease

Kishi, Takayuki and Ogata, Taiki and Ora, Hiroki and Shigeyama, Ryo and Nakayama, Masayuki and Seki, Masatoshi and Orimo, Satoshi and Miyake, Yoshihiro (2020) Synchronized Tactile Stimulation on Upper Limbs Using a Wearable Robot for Gait Assistance in Patients With Parkinson's Disease. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 7. ISSN 2296-9144

[thumbnail of pubmed-zip/versions/1/package-entries/frobt-07-00010/frobt-07-00010.pdf] Text
pubmed-zip/versions/1/package-entries/frobt-07-00010/frobt-07-00010.pdf - Published Version

Download (1MB)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether using a wearable robot applying interactive rhythmic stimulation on the upper limbs of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) could affect their gait. The wearable robot presented tactile stimuli on the patients' upper limbs, which was mutually synchronized with the swing of their upper limbs. We conducted an evaluation experiment with PD patients (n = 30, Modified Hoehn-Yahr = 1–3, on-state) to investigate the assistance effect by the robot and the immediate after-effect of intervention. The participants were instructed to walk 30 m under four different conditions: (1) not wearing the robot before the intervention (Pre-condition), (2) wearing the robot without the rhythm assistance (RwoA condition), (3) wearing the robot with rhythm assistance (RwA condition), and (4) not wearing the robot immediately after the intervention (Post-condition). These conditions were conducted in this order over a single day. The third condition was performed three times and the others, once. The arm swing amplitude, stride length, and velocity were increased in the RwA condition compared to the RwoA condition. The coefficient of variance (CV) of the stride duration was decreased in the RwA condition compared to the RwoA condition. These results revealed that the assistance by the robot increased the gait performance of PD patients. In addition, the stride length and velocity were increased and the stride duration CV was decreased in the Post-condition compared to the Pre-condition. These results show that the effect of robot assistance on the patient's gait remained immediately after the intervention. These findings suggest that synchronized rhythmic stimulation on the upper limbs could influence the gait of PD patients and that the robot may assist with gait rehabilitation in these patients.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Open Research Librarians > Mathematical Science
Depositing User: Unnamed user with email support@open.researchlibrarians.com
Date Deposited: 29 Jun 2023 04:08
Last Modified: 20 Sep 2023 09:40
URI: http://stm.e4journal.com/id/eprint/1361

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item