Perception of Affordances and Obstacle Crossing in People With Parkinson's Disease and Healthy Adults

NCT06932679 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 1561/25
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 180
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study aims to explore how young adults, older adults and people with Parkinson's disease (PwP), perceive their abilty to cross obstacles while walking, and how this perception is related to their actual performance of obstacle crossing and disease-related motor and cognitive impairments. The study will explore this percepeption and the actual performance in different walking environments(floor, synthetic grass turf). Understanding how people perceive obstacles may help improve rehabilitation methods and reduce the risk of falls. The study will take place at the Motor Performance Laboratory, University of Haifa, and will include walking tasks, eye-tracking measurements, and motor and cognitive assessments.

Conditions

Parkinson's Disease (PD)

Keywords

Parkinson's Disease; Obstacle Crossing; Gait; Affordances; Motor Control; Balance; Fall Risk; Visual Exploration; Gaze Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Affordance Perception Accuracy

  Accuracy of participants' perception of their ability to cross obstacles of varying height and surface conditions. Participants will judge whether they can safely cross an obstacle prior to walking.

  During single laboratory session (about 3 hours)

• Affordances measured by gaze behavior

  Eye movement patterns during obstacle approach and crossing. Gaze behavior will be recorded using wearable eye-tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 3) to assess visual exploration of the walking environment and obstacle. Measures will include fixation(on obstacle) duration (milisecondes).

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS)

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

• Walking Speed

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

• Step Length

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

• Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose (LEDD)

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

• Cognitive Performance - Stroop Test (NeuroTrax Cognitive Battery)

  During a single laboratory session (approximately 3 hours)

Study Arms (3)

Parkinson's Disease

Participants diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PwP), aged 60-80 years, able to walk independently outdoors.

Other: Assessment of Gait and Visual Exploration

Healthy Older Adults

Healthy adults aged 60-80 years, without neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting gait.

Other: Assessment of Gait and Visual Exploration

Healthy Young Adults

Healthy adults aged 20-30 years, without neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting gait.

Other: Assessment of Gait and Visual Exploration

Interventions

Assessment of Gait and Visual Exploration OTHER

Participants will perform walking tasks involving obstacle crossing while their gait and visual exploration patterns are recorded using wearable sensors and eye-tracking glasses. This is a non-invasive observational study with no therapeutic intervention.

Healthy Older Adults; Healthy Young Adults; Parkinson's Disease

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will include three groups: (1) people with Parkinson's disease (PwP), aged 60-80 years, diagnosed by a physician and able to walk independently outdoors; (2) healthy older adults aged 60-80 years without neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting gait; and (3) healthy young adults aged 20-30 years without neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting gait. Participants will be recruited from the community, from clinical settings (for PwP), and through university-based recruitment systems (for young healthy adults).

You may qualify if:

• Participants aged 20 to 80 years.
• Ability to walk independently outdoors without assistive devices.
• For Parkinson's Disease (PD) group: Diagnosis of PD confirmed by medical records.
• For healthy control groups: No neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting gait.

You may not qualify if:

• Feezing of gait (for PD group only), based on a score greater than 0 on the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire.
• Severe visual impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses or lenses.
• Cognitive impairment, defined as a score below 18 on the telephone-based Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
• Any orthopedic condition, pain, or other medical condition that may affect walking, based on self-report.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Haifa: lead
• University of Haifa, Israel: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Haifa, Motor Performance Laboratory

Haifa, 3103301, Israel

RECRUITING

Study Officials

• Galit Yogev Seligmann, PhD

  University of Haifa

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Galit Yogev Seligmann, PhD

CONTACT

+972-53-5315761; galit.yogev@gmail.com

Michal Kafri, PhD

CONTACT

+972-58-6862261; kafri.michal@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Senior Lecturer, Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 10, 2025
• First Posted: April 17, 2025
• Study Start: April 24, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 24, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 24, 2028
• Last Updated: July 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

IL (1)