Augmented reality in Parkinson's disease

This article presents an augmented reality-based therapeutic device designed to overcome gait problems associated with Parkinson's Disease. A normal model of gait is proposed followed by a model of Parkinsonian gait with the goal of construction of a gait-enabling therapeutic device. The fundamental underlying tenet of the model is that vision pathology is responsible for the majority of Parkinsonian gait pathology. The basis for such a claim is the well documented phenomenon known as Kinesia Paradoxa, whereby, in the presence of certain so-called visual cues, a PD subject can be transformed from a totally immobile, helpless victim of this disease into a near normal-walking individual. Several gait-enabling devices are also described.