Clinical Applications and Evaluations of A Portable In-Shoe Plantar Pressure Monitoring and Biofeedback Gait System for Ambulation Training in Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke patients often suffer from persistent physical, psychological, and motor dysfunction, which severely affect their independence in daily life. Therefore, restoration of independent ambulatory ability is one of the most important goals in stroke rehabilitation. To achieve such a goal, ambulation aids are important and necessary devices to assist their ambulatory ability or ambulation training. Whereas the use of ambulation assistive devices promotes early mobility and facilitates early restoration of function for these patients, improper or prolonged use of these devices may inevitably cause negative training effects, such as patients may become over-dependent upon the assistance offered by these devices. The formation of such dependence would hinder the progress of stroke patients to achieve the ultimate goal of independent walking without any assistive devices. To assess the influences of using ambulation assistive devices, it is therefore imperative that clinicians closely and subjectively evaluate the gait pattern and force production pattern of patients when they walk with ambulation aids. In addition, ambulation assistive devices equipped with device pressure feedback function can be used not only to assist in ambulating but also to monitor patient's level of dependence on devices. The device pressure feedback information can be used to train patients to gradually reduce their dependence on devices. To date, due to the limitations of conventional laboratory methods of gait analysis, the "multi-footed" gait patterns presented by stroke patients, when they are walking with ambulation aids, have not yet been studied with biomechanical analysis. Moreover, whether the use of ambulation assistive devices equipped with feedback function can effectively improve stroke patients' gait patterns or their ability to achieve independent walking remains unknown. Answers to both questions would provide important knowledge for clinicians to base upon in evaluating weight bearing symmetry between the two lower extremities in stroke patients and the training effects of using ambulation aids for these patients.