Customizable Wearable Vibrotactile Display for Gait Biofeedback Research

Abstract

Approximately a third of American adults experience balance problems throughout their lifetime which can lead to a fear of falling, activity avoidance, and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. While gait and balance training regimens are the most common therapeutic solution for adults with increased risk for falling, interventions that involve personalized biofeedback have been successfully shown to improve standing balance in research studies; however, it is still unclear how best to provide meaningful biofeedback during gait-related activities. Current gait correction systems are limited to providing feedback on a single gait parameter which cannot capture the full complexity of gait, and commonly use only one feedback scheme/modality. Additionally, many devices cannot provide the device wearer with immediate feedback. Therefore, there is a need to develop a customizable/reconfigurable wearable device to be used in a research setting, which will explore the effects of vibrotactile feedback on individuals with vestibular disorders. This device must be able to gather information on multiple kinematic parameters related to gait and provide vibrotactile feedback for the device wearer to interpret and correct their balance irregularities within each testing trial. Ultimately, this research platform will inform the development of a clinic-based and home-based biofeedback system.