Developing a Gait Enhancing Mobile Shoe to Alter Over-Ground Walking Coordination.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanical Engineering
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Human Locomotion

Background:

• Split-belt treadmills are effective for gait rehabilitation but are stationary and limit training duration.
• Asymmetric walking patterns can benefit from interventions that promote symmetrical gait.
• The long-term effects of split-belt treadmill training are not fully understood due to its limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Gait Enhancing Mobile Shoe (GEMS), a novel wearable device.
• To enable over-ground gait training that replicates split-belt treadmill kinematics.
• To investigate the potential of GEMS for gait rehabilitation and explore its after-effects.

Main Methods:

• Development of a passive wearable shoe system (GEMS) that simulates split-belt treadmill action.
• Testing GEMS on healthy subjects to assess its immediate effects on gait kinematics.
• Evaluating the after-effects of short-term GEMS usage on walking patterns.

Main Results:

• GEMS successfully mimics the desirable kinematics of split-belt treadmills in an over-ground setting.
• Wearing GEMS for twenty minutes demonstrated the ability to alter a wearer's gait.
• Preliminary testing indicated that GEMS generates after-effects similar to those observed with split-belt treadmills.

Conclusions:

• GEMS presents a mobile and passive alternative to stationary split-belt treadmills for gait training.
• The wearable nature of GEMS allows for training in diverse environments and for extended durations.
• GEMS shows promise as a tool for gait rehabilitation, offering similar benefits to split-belt treadmills with enhanced practicality.