Configurable, wearable sensing and vibrotactile feedback system for real-time postural balance and gait training: proof-of-concept.

Only four healthy older adults were tested in the balance task and six in the gait task. All participants were healthy older adults, not patients with balance or gait disorders, so clinical effects were not tested. Testing was a single session, so the study does not show motor learning, retention or treatment benefit. Two participants were excluded because they could not internally rotate their foot far enough, and the system is described as not well suited for people with extreme weakness or sensory impairment. The battery lasted 1.5 hours, which may limit longer sessions. The system used lower fidelity sensors and motors than laboratory systems, and the control loop delay was 120 ms. No randomisation or blinding is described, and the outcomes were movement measures rather than symptoms or function.

Funding was reported from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Collaborative Research in Applications of Nanotechnology Fund, and the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. The supplied text does not state any commercial conflict of interest.

Do not read this as evidence that a wearable vibration system improves balance or gait in patients. It was a proof-of-concept test in four healthy older adults for balance and six healthy older adults for gait during a single session, so it only shows that healthy people could respond to the feedback cues.