Many people with Parkinson’s disease develop what is known as paradoxical akinesia, or frozen walking, in which their legs simply stop moving forward when they walk. A new development by Harvard specialists, described in Nature Medicine, should help patients cope with this problem.
Scientists have developed a special exoskeleton, which has already demonstrated its effectiveness in helping the legs of a person with Parkinson’s disease to keep moving. It is noted that it is attached to the waist and hips and uses inbuilt sensors to track the phases of walking. The device uses the readings to strategically apply a small amount of motorised support using cable-driven actuators that work in tandem with the patient’s muscles to help their legs move forward.
The device was tested on a 73-year-old man who suffers from this ailment and faced freezing when walking up to 10 times a day, despite past surgical interventions and medication.
