Objective: To devise a portable skid free mat bearing a combination of patterned and pictographic visual cues for freezing of gait.

Background: Freezing of gait [FOG] is a disabling symptom of Parkinson’s disease which responds poorly to drugs and Deep brain stimulation. Visual cues in form of alternating bands and lines have been found to be useful for FOG.

Method: Patterns and Pictographs which would theoretically improve FOG were fixed on a lightweight, easy to roll, skid free 6 feet by 3 feet rubber  mat . Two patients having frequent freezing episodes -both on L-Dopa and off L-dopa freezing of gait episodes , were then asked to walk on the mat and FOG episodes were evaluated. Stride length and walking speed was also recorded. Patient walked from one end of mat to another , then an assistant shifted  the mat again in front of the patient.

Results: Both patients reported improvement on several parameters. Stride length improved in both , walking speed improved in one patient . One patient reported reduction in FOG episodes by 40% and other by 25%. Limitation was length of the mat – longer mats around 15-20 metre length would be better but would pose portability problems

Conclusion: Portable mats with visual cue   help FOG but limitations are that an assistant is required and mat length is a limiting factor. Thinner, lighter materials can help overcome this .

Combination of pictographs and patterns.

Table 1 patient details

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/magic-carpet-for-freezing-of-gait-evaluating-a-combination-of-patterned-and-pictographic-visual-cues/