Design and Development of a Wearable Vibrotactile Device for the Rehabilitation of Gait Disorders in Patients with Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy (CP) disorders are a group of muscular disabilities that affect more than 700,000 people in the United States. As there are no cures for CP, currently-available treatments like traditional physical therapy and surgery seek to address symptoms, such as mobility impairments. However, these approaches can be intrusive, expensive, and limited in effectiveness. In this report, we describe the invention of a wearable device that will serve as a testing bed for research in the use of vibration as an inexpensive and effective option for the treatment of CP-related mobility disorders. Specifically, the device will be used to evaluate whether vibration at the site of the soleus, a muscle that is activated during walking to prevent trips and falls, can improve a user’s gait. Our device includes three components: a wearable that attaches to the user’s leg which delivers vibration at the site of the soleus muscle, a script that interfaces with a gait analysis tool developed by our liaisons at Stanford Orthopedics to output vibration actuation during the midstance of the gait cycle when the soleus is engaged, and a menu which allows the user easily to adjust different vibration parameters wirelessly. The high priority requirements of the project stipulate that the device must accurately deliver vibrotactile stimulation and that it must be worn comfortably by the user. We ran several tests which showed that both of these requirements were met. The device will give practitioners and clinicians an easy-to-use tool to test different vibration parameters, like amplitude, frequency, and attachment location. Altogether, our work represents an important step in understanding the benefits of vibration for the rehabilitation of CP-related mobility disorders.