Wearable biofeedback device to assess gait features and improve gait pattern in people with parkinson's disease: a case series.

Only seven men were studied, all with mild to moderate disease, so it does not show what would happen in women or in people with more severe disease. There was no control group and no blinded assessment, so the changes could be due to practice, learning, attention, or expectation rather than the device. There was no follow-up, so it is unknown whether gains lasted after the five sessions. Immediate effects were mixed: six participants slowed when biofeedback was first turned on, and subjects #1 and #4 shortened their step length at that point. No freezing episodes occurred during testing, so the device was not shown to affect freezing of gait. The device was a prototype used under supervision, and its home or outdoor use was not tested. The trunk sensor was present but not used, so medial-lateral trunk movement was not assessed.

The article names a funder in the funding section, but the supplied text gives no author conflict-of-interest declaration.

Do not conclude that this device improves Parkinson's disease gait or can replace physiotherapy. It was a seven-person case series with no control group, no follow-up, and inconsistent immediate effects, so the observed changes cannot be attributed to the device.