Center for MicroElectroMechanical Systems, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal.
Neurology Service, Hospital of Braga, Braga, Portugal.
Med Biol Eng Comput. 2021 Jun;59(6):1185-1199. doi: 10.1007/s11517-021-02365-3. Epub 2021 May 10.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is often associated with a vast list of gait-associated disabilities, for which there is still a limited pharmacological/surgical treatment efficacy. Therefore, alternative approaches have emerged as vibrotactile biofeedback systems (VBS). This review aims to focus on the technologies supporting VBS and identify their effects on improving gait-associated disabilities by verifying how VBS were applied and validated with end-users. It is expected to furnish guidance to researchers looking to enhance the effectiveness of future vibrotactile cueing systems. The use of vibrotactile cues has proved to be relevant and attractive, as positive results have been obtained in patients' gait performance, suitability in any environment, and easy adherence. There seems to be a preference in developing VBS to mitigate freezing of gait, to improve balance, to overcome the risk of fall, and a prevalent use to apply miniaturized wearable actuators and sensors. Most studies implemented a biofeedback loop able to provide rescue strategies during or after the detection of a gait-associated disability. However, there is a need of more clinical evidence and inclusion of experimental sessions to evaluate if the biofeedback was effectively integrated into the patients' motor system.
帕金森病（PD）常伴有一系列与步态相关的残疾，而目前针对这些残疾的药物/手术治疗效果有限。因此，出现了替代方法，如振动触觉生物反馈系统（VBS）。本综述旨在重点关注支持 VBS 的技术，并通过验证 VBS 如何与终端用户一起应用和验证来确定其改善与步态相关的残疾的效果。这有望为希望提高未来振动触觉提示系统有效性的研究人员提供指导。振动触觉提示已被证明是相关且有吸引力的，因为在患者的步态表现、在任何环境中的适用性以及易于坚持方面都取得了积极的结果。似乎更倾向于开发 VBS 来减轻步态冻结、改善平衡、降低跌倒风险，并普遍使用微型可穿戴执行器和传感器。大多数研究都实施了生物反馈循环，能够在检测到与步态相关的残疾时或之后提供救援策略。然而，需要更多的临床证据和实验环节来评估生物反馈是否有效地整合到患者的运动系统中。
