Background

Biofeedback is a technique one can use to control their behaviors or body functions. It’s commonly used in rehabilitation to incentivize volitional change and engage patients to better achieve the rehabilitation goals.

I have developed several biofeedback systems that can both work independently and along with assistive devices. For example, the step length biofeedback system aims to change users’ gait patterns to encourage a longer step, and the plantar-pressure biofeedback system aims to incentivize calf muscle activity. My colleagues and I have validated these systems in people with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Crepe

Purpose

1) Validate the feasibility of a real-time step length biofeedback mechanism to augment ankle exoskeleton-assisted walking performance in individuals with CP.

2) Validate the use of a plantar pressure biofeedback system to increase ankle plantar flexor engagement during walking in CP.

Findings

  1. Biofeedback-plus-assistance resulted in a 14% increase in step length and contributed to near immediate improvements in lower-extremity posture and mechanics, with none, or more-limited improvements observed for assistance alone.

  2. Plantar-pressure biofeedback was as effective as using EMG as biofeedback to increase muscle activity, which supports future research on functional training with this simple, low-cost biofeedback modality, both alone and in combination with robotic ankle resistance.

Future directions

Conduct long-term clinical interventions combining these biofeedback modalities with robotic ankle assistance/resistance.

Resources

Publications

Others

ASB2020 Podium Presentation