JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Gait and balance impairments are a common in neurological diseases, including stroke, and negatively affect patients’ quality of life. Improving balance and gait is one of the main rehabilitation goals. Rehabilitation is mainly performed in clinics, where lacks context-specificity and training in the patient’s home environment is preferable. In the last decade developed rehabilitation technologies, such as virtual and augmented reality (VR; AR), allow training gait and balance outside clinics. Here, we propose a new method for gait rehabilitation in stroke subjects in which mobile AR-technology and sensor-based motion capture system are combined to provide fine-grained feedback on gait performance in real-time.

Objective:

Here we investigate manipulation of gait pattern in stroke subjects based on virtual augmentation, during overground walking, when compared to walking without the AR performance feedback.

Methods:

We developed an Augmented Reality parkour for gait Impairments after StrokE (ARISE) system, in which we combined a development version of the HoloLens 2 and a sensor-based motion capture system. One chronic post-stroke patient with minor gait impairment completed clinical gait assessments and the AR parkour with patient-centered performance gait feedback. Movement kinematics during gait, as well as the usability and safety of system were evaluated.

Results:

The patient changed his gait pattern during the AR parkour compared to the clinical gait assessments. He recognized the virtual objects and ranked the usability of ARISE system as excellent. In addition, the patient stated that the system would complement his standard gait therapy. Except exhilaration, no adverse events occurred.

Conclusions:

This project provided first evidence for gait adaptation during overground walking, based on real-time feedback through visual and auditory augmentation. The system has the potential to provide gait and balance rehabilitation outside the clinic. This initial investigation of the new AR rehabilitation may help to develop and investigate new gait and balance therapies.