http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/10/1/93/abstract
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Although significant progress has been achieved in developing sensory augmentation
methods to improve standing balance, attempts to extend this research to locomotion
have been quite limited in scope. The goal of this study was to characterize the effects
of two real-time feedback displays on locomotor performance during four gait-based
tasks ranging in difficulty.
Methods
Seven subjects with vestibular deficits used a trunk-based vibrotactile feedback system
that provided real-time feedback regarding their medial-lateral (M/L) trunk tilt when
they exceeded a subject-specific predefined tilt threshold during slow and self-paced
walking, walking along a narrow walkway, and walking on a foam surface. Two feedback
display configurations were evaluated: the continuous display provided real-time continuous
feedback of trunk tilt, and the gated display provided feedback for 200 ms during
the period immediately following heel strike. The root-mean-square (RMS) trunk tilt
and percentage of time below the tilt thresholds were calculated for all locomotor
tasks.
Results
Use of continuous feedback resulted in significant decreases in M/L trunk tilt and
increases in percentage times below the tilt thresholds during narrow and foam trials.
The gated display produced generally smaller changes.
Conclusions
This preliminary study demonstrated that use of continuous vibrotactile feedback during
challenging locomotor tasks allowed subjects with vestibular deficits to significantly
decrease M/L RMS trunk tilt. Analysis of the results also showed that continuous feedback
was superior.
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