Table 2.
Exemplary clinical studies utilizing IMUs for gait assessment in PD.
| Publication | Study population | IMU position(s) | Clinical intervention | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMUs for therapeutic outcome | ||||
| Curtze et al. (2015) |
n = 104 PD patients, n = 64 age-matched controls |
Ankles, wrists, lumbar spine, sternum | Levodopa treatment (ON- vs. OFF-state) | Improved pace-related gait measures in ON-state: increased stride velocity and stride length, improved lower leg ROM and arm swing; impaired balance measures in ON-state: increased postural sway |
| Iijima et al. (2017) | n = 14 PD patients | Waist | Selegiline Treatment (before vs. after the addition/increase in dose) | Increased amplitudes and range of gait accelerations after dosage addition/increase in 40–63% of the patients; diminished fluctuations in gait throughout the day (86%) |
| Cebi et al. (2020) | n = 13 PD+FoG, n = 5 PD-FoG | Ankles, lumbar spine | DBS-STN (DBS-ON vs. DBS-OFF) | Reduced time to complete walking task, increased stride length, improved lower leg ROM; reduced freezing events (freezer subgroup) |
| IMUs for cueing | ||||
| Mazilu et al. (2015) | n = 9 PD patients | Feet, ankles, thighs, lumbar spine, wrists | Adaptive auditory cueing (metronome beats) | Trend toward reduced number of FoG episodes |
| Sijobert et al. (2016) | n = 13 PD patients | Foot | Gait-synchronized sensory electrical stimulation | Reduction of FoG events and reduced time to complete a walking task |
| Ginis et al. (2016) | n = 40 PD patients | Feet, ankles | Adaptive auditory feedback, personalized gait advice (active control) | Improved single / dual task gait speed (both groups), improved balance and quality of life (adaptive auditory feedback) |
| Ginis et al. (2017) |
n = 28 PD patients, n = 13 age-matched controls |
Feet, ankles, lumbar spine, wrists | Adaptive auditory feedback, continuous auditory cueing, adaptive auditory cueing (metronome beats) | Reduced deviation of cadence (continuous and adaptive cueing), maintaining cadence but increased fatigue (adaptive feedback) |
| Mancini et al. (2018) |
n = 25 PD+FoG, n = 18 PD-FoG |
Feet, shins, lumbar spine, sternum | Gait-synchronized tactile feedback at wrist, rhythmic auditory cueing | Both modalities reduced FoG during turning, increased smoothness of turns, decreased turning speed |
| Fino and Mancini (2020) | n = 43 PD patients | Feet, ankles, lumbar spine, sternum, wrists | Gait-synchronized tactile feedback wrist, rhythmic auditory cueing | Improved trunk stability (tactile cueing), but reductions in gait speed and stride length and increased stride time |
| Schlenstedt et al. (2020) |
n = 36 PD+FoG, n = 18 PD-FoG patients |
Shins, lumbar spine | Gait-synchronized tactile feedback wrist | Increased first step duration, no effect on anticipatory postural adjustments |