Category: Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Trials
Objective: To determine the ease of use and preliminary effectiveness of shoe-mounted visual cue (laser) on gait velocity in those with Parkinson’s Disease and freezing of gait (PD-FOG).
Background: FOG is a common symptom in persons with PD in which patients are unable to produce effective steps. This symptom directly affects gait velocity, which is a valuable predictor of survival and community ambulation in older adults. The severity of FOG episodes can be attenuated with visual cueing, which may lead to improvements in gait velocity.
Method: Five participants completed a single and dual-task 2-minute walk and obstacle course both with and without the use of the shoe-mounted laser attachments as a cueing device in pseudo-random order. Gait velocity was collected via wearable kinematic sensors during the 2-minute walk and an instrumented gait mat at the end of the obstacle course.
Results: Five participants (with H&Y II-III, age 55-75, 4M and 1F) with idiopathic PD and at least one episode of FOG reported in the prior month completed the study. Gait velocity was slightly higher with lasers-on (0.89 ± 0.13) compared with lasers-off (0.87 ± 0.13) in the obstacle course task. In contrast, gait velocity during the 2-minute walk was higher during the lasers-off condition (0.98 ± 0.17) than the lasers-on condition (0.93 ± 0.13). Overall, 1/5 participants increased gait velocity with lasers-on during the 2-minute walk task, and 2/5 participants increased gait velocity with lasers-on during the obstacle course task. Additionally, participants rated the visual cueing device on its ease of use as well as their willingness to use the attachment again. On average, participants scored the device as a 6.8/10 (SD = 2.6) for ease of use and a 7.6/10 (SD = 1.8) for willingness to use again indicating possible agreement that the participants would use the laser shoes in the future (10 represents 100% agreeable).
Conclusion: Although the study is ongoing, preliminary results indicate that laser-shoes may be feasible for use and may increase walking velocity during some gait tasks in PD-FOG.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
M. Scavarda, K. Nagel, D. Peterson, K. Plesher, S. Moskowitz, C. Ivy, L. Denney. The Impact of Visual Cueing on Gait Velocity in those with Parkinson’s Disease with Freezing of Gait [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-visual-cueing-on-gait-velocity-in-those-with-parkinsons-disease-with-freezing-of-gait/. Accessed October 16, 2026.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-impact-of-visual-cueing-on-gait-velocity-in-those-with-parkinsons-disease-with-freezing-of-gait/