Enhancing Parkinson's Disease Rehabilitation Through Remote Haptic Guidance: Field Study
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Summary
Individuals with Parkinson's Disease (PD) often have motor difficulties that can negatively impact daily activities and their quality of life. Research has shown that to slow the progression of these symptoms, patients should partake in effective physical rehabilitation. However, effective physical rehabilitation has many barriers, including timing, cost, and other personal or system-level challenges. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the haptic remote rehabilitation system for patients with PD using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in a field environment.
Description
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that affects the central nervous system, causing unintended or uncontrollable movements. PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting 1-2 per 1000 of the population. This prevalence has more than doubled from 2.5 million patients in 1990 to 6.1 million patients in 2016. Upcoming shifts toward an aging population will exacerbate this problem and the healthcare burden. People with PD suffer from diverse motor symptoms (e.g., tremors, rigidity, and dystonia) that adversely affect their daily activities and quality of life. Ph…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Over 18 years old * Diagnosed with PD Exclusion Criteria: * Hoehn and Yahr stage outside 1-3 * Lives outside the 48 contiguous states in the USA * Unable to move hands and head without assistance * Unable to remain seated in an upright position for up to an hour
Interventions
- DeviceHaptic device
Participants will receive a custom-made handheld haptic device, which will be used to perform selected movement tasks. The device can generate the feeling of directional feedback.
- DeviceNon-haptic device
Participants will receive a handheld device similar to the haptic group. However, the device in this intervention will not provide any haptic feedback.
Location
- Virginia TechBlacksburg, Virginia