Biofeedback gait training system for temporal and distance factors

Abstract

A biofeedback gait-training system has been developed which can deal with the gait problems of all subjects in any phase of rehabilitation: measurement, analysis, training and/or evaluation. The system is composed of a measuring walkway and a training walker. The walkway can measure all the temporal and distance factors of gait. The walker, with two parallel grasping bars and a CRT monitor, moves automatically with the aid of servo-motors. The system provides visual feedback for distance factors of gait and audio feedback for temporal factors. During the single-support phase the desired foot position for the next step and the supporting foot position are displayed on the CRT. The actual position of the foot placement is then overlaid for the double support duration that follows. A trainee learns to place the foot in such a way as to overlap the desired with the actual foot stamps on the CRT. The desired temporal factors are prpvided by buzzer tones. A trainee tries to shorten or elongate the duration of the respective phase of the gait cycle in accordance with the tone. Some experiments on normal subjects and on some with degenerative knee joints verified that the biofeedback signals were utilised effectively and that the walker was of value for improving pathological gait.