Can Real-time Biofeedback of Foot Clearance Data be used to Assist with Gait Rehabilitation following Stroke?, NHMRC

Abstract

A new intervention for falls-risk minimization is proposed by providing additional visual sensory information to increase foot-ground clearance in order to walk more safely. A randomised controlled trial will be employed to assess the effects of biofeedback on foot-ground clearance during gait training. The outcome will be innovative biofeedback-based gait training that could significantly enhance existing stroke rehabilitation programs. Biofeedback is the provision of information, most commonly visual or auditory, of internal biological processes that would not otherwise be sensed. The theoretical and practical significance of biofeedback is in applications such as neurological rehabilitation, where it can augment, or substitute for, the lost information provided by normally functioning sensory systems. The group is undertaking a major National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded project in collaboration with two Melbourne hospitals (Royal Melbourne and Austin Hospital) using visually presented biofeedback of foot-ground clearance to re-train walking in stroke patients.