Balance control via tactile biofeedback in children with cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy have limitations in utilizing neural information to perform smooth movement and maintain balance during walking. This study aimed to develop a wearable sensor that tracks balance continuously and provides haptic biofeedback to its user through real-time vibration stimulus to assist patients with balance and postural control impairments such as cerebral palsy.

Twelve children with cerebral palsy and 12 age-matched typically developed children used the sensor during walking at a self- -selected speed. The lower extremity joint kinematics, center of mass, and spatial-temporal parameters were recorded with Xsens MVN during "with" and "without" biofeedback conditions.

The sensor did not disturb healthy gait. Pearson correlation coefficient and Root Mean Square Error techniques showed that biofeedback regulated the gait parameters and trunk stability of the CP group. The extended stance percentage (without BF: 73.91% ± 10.42, with BF: 63.53% ± 2.99), step width (without BF: 0.20 m ± 0.05, with BF: 0.18 m ± 0.07), and step time (without BF: 1.55 s ± 1.07, with BF: 0.73 s ± 0.14) parameters decreased. Similarly, cadence and walking speed increased.

Obtained results indicated that this wearable sensor can be integrated into the physical therapy and rehabilitation process of children with balance and postural control impairments to improve motor learning and balance control. The present findings contribute to a better understanding of the adaptation of innovative engineering applications with rehabilitation processes, which, in turn, could assist patients with balance impairments and facilitate their integration into society.