Exoskeleton for people with Parkinson's disease

2024: Product Announcement

In early January 2024, American researchers from Harvard and Boston Universities announced the development of an exoskeleton that is designed specifically for people with Parkinson's disease. A special "suit" with sensors helps such patients to maintain balance and walk more confidently in the middle step.

In people with Parkinson's disease, a common problem is "congealing," which affects the ability to walk and increases the likelihood of falls. This symptom causes patients to lose balance while walking, slow down their steps, and then stop altogether. Many attempts have been made to solve the problem - from drugs to physiotherapy to surgery - but the effectiveness of such solutions is limited. American experts in the new work proposed a different approach - a soft exoskeleton that corrects walking.

Exoskeleton designed for people with Parkinson's disease

The developed system uses a number of sensors that collect information about a person's gait and movements. Further, special algorithms detect signs of "freezing" and give commands to the drives. As a result, movement adjustment is carried out, which helps people to maintain balance and consistently go the middle step.

We found that even a little mechanical assistance from our soft robotic clothing gives an instant effect and consistently improves a person's walking in various conditions, says Harvard University professor Conor Walsh, one of the project participants.

During trials of the novelty involving a 73-year-old man suffering from Parkinson's disease with frequent "freezes," researchers showed that the exoskeleton very quickly gives a positive effect. Walsh's team managed to almost completely eliminate the patient's "solidification" when walking indoors, and when walking in open spaces, such cases occurred much less often.^[1]

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