Robotic Apparel to Prevent Freezing of Gait in Parkinson Disease

NCT06602544 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: IRB#24-0986024589
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Freezing-of-gait (FoG) in Parkinson Disease (PD) is one of the most vivid and disturbing gait phenomena in neurology. Often described by patients as a feeling of "feet getting glued to the floor," FoG is formally defined as a "brief, episodic absence or marked reduction of forward progression of the feet despite the intention to walk." This debilitating gait phenomena is very common in PD, occurring in up to 80% of individuals with severe PD. When FoG arrests walking, serious consequences can occur such as loss of balance, falls, injurious events, consequent fear of falling, and increased hospitalization. Wearable robots are capable of augmenting spatiotemporal gait mechanics and are emerging as viable solutions for locomotor assistance in various neurological populations. For the proposed study, our goal is to understand how low force mechanical assistance from soft robotic apparel can best mitigate gait decline preceding a freezing episode and subsequent onset of FoG by improving spatial (e.g. stride length) and temporal features (e.g. stride time variability) of walking. We hypothesize that the ongoing gait-preserving effects can essentially minimize the accumulation of motor errors that lead to FoG. Importantly, the autonomous assistance provided by the wearable robot circumvents the need for cognitive or attentional resources, thereby minimizing risks for overloading the cognitive systems -- a known trigger for FoG, thus enhancing the repeatability and robustness of FoG-preventing effects.

Conditions

Parkinson Disease (PD)

Keywords

Parkinson Disease; Freezing-of-gait; Wearable Robot; Soft Robotics; Gait; Rehabilitation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (12)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 4 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 5 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 6 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 7 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 8 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in percent time spent freezing

  Percent time spent freezing refers to cumulative duration spent freezing divided by the total duration of the task, expressed as percentage. Change in this outcome measure refers to the difference in percent time spent freezing during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 9 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 4 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 5 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 6 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 7 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 8 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in stride length

  Stride length is the Euclidian distance between a point at heel strike at the beginning of gait cycle and a point at heel strike at the subsequent gait cycle. Change in this outcome measure refers to difference in stride length during activities with and without assistance of robotic apparel.

  Visit 9 (within 6 months after enrollment)

Secondary Outcomes (25)

• Change in freezing-of-gait ratio

  Visit 4 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in freezing-of-gait ratio

  Visit 5 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in freezing-of-gait ratio

  Visit 6 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in freezing-of-gait ratio

  Visit 7 (within 6 months after enrollment)

• Change in freezing-of-gait ratio

  Visit 8 (within 6 months after enrollment)

Study Arms (1)

Multi-visit ambulatory activities with soft robotic apparel

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will engage in ambulatory activities (i.e. straight-line walking, turning) with and without the assistance of robotic apparel, performed across multiple visits under various freezing-of-gait (FoG) provoking scenarios

Device: Robotic Apparel

Interventions

Robotic Apparel DEVICE

A robotic apparel system is a portable, lightweight textile-based wearable robot that is worn around the waist and thighs. The apparel provides assistive flexion moment about the hip joint during the swing phase of gait by spooling in a cable that connects the thigh wraps to the front of the waist belt. Inertial measurement units embedded in the thigh wraps are used to control the timing of the robotic apparel assistance. Robotic apparel assistance magnitude is delivered as a small percentage of the bodyweight of the wearer.

Multi-visit ambulatory activities with soft robotic apparel

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years old
• Self-reported Freezing of Gait due to PD
• Score of 21 or higher on the cognitive screening test (Montreal Cognitive Assessment Score (MoCA))
• Independent ambulation (with or without an assistive device, no physical assistance) for at least 20 meters
• Able to understand, communicate, and be understood by study staff
• Provide HIPAA Authorization to allow communication with the participant's treating physician/provider for medical clearance (if deemed necessary by study clinical team) to verify self-reported medical history (if deemed necessary by study clinical team)
• Provide informed consent
• Ability to participate in 8 research study visits

You may not qualify if:

• More than 2 falls in the previous month, as a result of gait impairment (may enroll under clinician discretion)
• Major surgery in the last 6 months that interferes with walking (may enroll under clinician discretion)
• Gait deficits due to missing limbs
• Experience chronic pain that interferes with walking ability (may enroll under clinician discretion)
• Serious co-morbidities (unrelated to gait impairment) that may interfere with ability to participate in research (e.g. cardiovascular, neurological, skin, and vascular conditions such as acute, ongoing/unmanaged deep vein thrombosis)
• No observable freezing-of-gait

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM): lead
• Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research: collaborator
• Boston University: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

Harvard Science and Engineering Complex

Allston, Massachusetts, 02134, United States

RECRUITING

Boston University Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (12)

• Ziegler K, Schroeteler F, Ceballos-Baumann AO, Fietzek UM. A new rating instrument to assess festination and freezing gait in Parkinsonian patients. Mov Disord. 2010 Jun 15;25(8):1012-8. doi: 10.1002/mds.22993.

  PMID: 20310009 BACKGROUND

• Ehgoetz Martens KA, Shine JM, Walton CC, Georgiades MJ, Gilat M, Hall JM, Muller AJ, Szeto JYY, Lewis SJG. Evidence for subtypes of freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. 2018 Jul;33(7):1174-1178. doi: 10.1002/mds.27417.

  PMID: 30153383 BACKGROUND

• Plotnik M, Giladi N, Hausdorff JM. Is freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease a result of multiple gait impairments? Implications for treatment. Parkinsons Dis. 2012;2012:459321. doi: 10.1155/2012/459321. Epub 2012 Jan 12.

  PMID: 22288021 BACKGROUND

• Nieuwboer A, Giladi N. Characterizing freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease: models of an episodic phenomenon. Mov Disord. 2013 Sep 15;28(11):1509-19. doi: 10.1002/mds.25683.

  PMID: 24132839 BACKGROUND

• Alice N, Fabienne C, Anne-Marie W, Kaat D. Does freezing in Parkinson's disease change limb coordination? A kinematic analysis. J Neurol. 2007 Sep;254(9):1268-77. doi: 10.1007/s00415-006-0514-3. Epub 2007 Apr 2.

  PMID: 17401738 BACKGROUND

• Nieuwboer A, Dom R, De Weerdt W, Desloovere K, Fieuws S, Broens-Kaucsik E. Abnormalities of the spatiotemporal characteristics of gait at the onset of freezing in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. 2001 Nov;16(6):1066-75. doi: 10.1002/mds.1206.

  PMID: 11748737 BACKGROUND

• Hausdorff JM, Schaafsma JD, Balash Y, Bartels AL, Gurevich T, Giladi N. Impaired regulation of stride variability in Parkinson's disease subjects with freezing of gait. Exp Brain Res. 2003 Mar;149(2):187-94. doi: 10.1007/s00221-002-1354-8. Epub 2003 Jan 22.

  PMID: 12610686 BACKGROUND

• Siviy C, Baker LM, Quinlivan BT, Porciuncula F, Swaminathan K, Awad LN, Walsh CJ. Opportunities and challenges in the development of exoskeletons for locomotor assistance. Nat Biomed Eng. 2023 Apr;7(4):456-472. doi: 10.1038/s41551-022-00984-1. Epub 2022 Dec 22.

  PMID: 36550303 BACKGROUND

• Macht M, Kaussner Y, Moller JC, Stiasny-Kolster K, Eggert KM, Kruger HP, Ellgring H. Predictors of freezing in Parkinson's disease: a survey of 6,620 patients. Mov Disord. 2007 May 15;22(7):953-6. doi: 10.1002/mds.21458.

  PMID: 17377927 BACKGROUND

• Nutt JG, Bloem BR, Giladi N, Hallett M, Horak FB, Nieuwboer A. Freezing of gait: moving forward on a mysterious clinical phenomenon. Lancet Neurol. 2011 Aug;10(8):734-44. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(11)70143-0.

  PMID: 21777828 BACKGROUND

• Jacobs JV, Nutt JG, Carlson-Kuhta P, Stephens M, Horak FB. Knee trembling during freezing of gait represents multiple anticipatory postural adjustments. Exp Neurol. 2009 Feb;215(2):334-41. doi: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2008.10.019. Epub 2008 Nov 12.

  PMID: 19061889 BACKGROUND

• Mancini M, Shah VV, Stuart S, Curtze C, Horak FB, Safarpour D, Nutt JG. Measuring freezing of gait during daily-life: an open-source, wearable sensors approach. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2021 Jan 4;18(1):1. doi: 10.1186/s12984-020-00774-3.

  PMID: 33397401 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Parkinson Disease

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases

Study Officials

• Terry Ellis, PT, PhD

  Boston University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Conor J Walsh, PhD

  Harvard University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Franchino Porciuncula, EdD, PT, DScPT

CONTACT

617-353-7525; fporciun@bu.edu

Teresa Baker, DPT

CONTACT

617-353-7525; nwendel@bu.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 17, 2024
• First Posted: September 19, 2024
• Study Start: September 3, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2027
• Last Updated: July 18, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

US (2)