12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare – Demos, Posters, Doctoral Colloquium

Research Article

A Wearable, Customizable, and Automated Auditory Cueing System to Stimulate Gait in Parkinson’s

Download624 downloads
  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/eai.20-4-2018.2276278,
        author={V\~{a}nia Guimar\"{a}es and Francisco Nunes},
        title={A Wearable, Customizable, and Automated Auditory Cueing System to Stimulate Gait in Parkinson’s},
        proceedings={12th EAI International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare -- Demos, Posters, Doctoral Colloquium},
        publisher={EAI},
        proceedings_a={PERVASIVEHEALTH - EAI},
        year={2018},
        month={8},
        keywords={parkinson's disease gait impairments rhythmic stimulation auditory cueing headset smartphone sound synthesis},
        doi={10.4108/eai.20-4-2018.2276278}
    }
    
  • Vânia Guimarães
    Francisco Nunes
    Year: 2018
    A Wearable, Customizable, and Automated Auditory Cueing System to Stimulate Gait in Parkinson’s
    PERVASIVEHEALTH - EAI
    EAI
    DOI: 10.4108/eai.20-4-2018.2276278
Vânia Guimarães1,*, Francisco Nunes1
  • 1: Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS
*Contact email: vania.guimaraes@fraunhofer.pt

Abstract

Gait impairments often hinder the mobility of people living with Parkinson’s. Even though effective therapeutic options exist, with time, progression of the condition is likely to restrict their effect. Auditory cueing has been used as an alternative to improve the gait of people living with Parkinson’s, however, existing solutions offer limited customization options, which restricts their efficacy in everyday life. This paper presents a wearable, customizable, and automated system that stimulates gait using rhythmic cues. Besides offering personalization of the type of stimuli, the system enables customization of temporal parameters of walking, such as cadence and swing/stance duration. The developed system uses off-the-shelf equipment and can be tailored to the needs of the patient.