Smart shoes with lasers make strides in mobility

[Nipuna]

THE right shoes can do more than complement your outfit. A new mobility aid named Path helps people who have trouble walking – simply by being fitted to their shoes.

Lise Pape, an engineer at InnovationRCA at the Royal College of Art in London, was inspired to build the system by her father, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease more than 10 years ago. Like many people with Parkinson's, he falls occasionally and experiences freezing of gait, the temporary impression that his feet are glued to the ground.

Visual cues have been shown to improve the pace and extend the stride of people with Parkinson's. So a laser that Path adds to the tip of the shoe projects parallel lines onto the next 50 centimetres of the floor. Each shoe lays down a guide for the opposite foot, keeping the grid steady until the wearer is ready to take the next step.

In addition, pressure sensors inserted into the soles of the shoes trigger vibrations when a foot hits the ground. This active feedback is designed to compensate for loss of sensation in the feet, another common symptom of Parkinson's. The soles and the toe projectors can easily be fitted to an ordinary pair of shoes.

Earlier this year, Pape tested Path on one person with Parkinson's and two with multiple sclerosis, another disease that impairs movement. The preliminary results were presented on 10 December at the Footwear Health Tech Conference in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. "I've had a lot of encouraging feedback from patients," Pape says. She plans to run a clinical trial early next year and wants to explore how the shoes can help people with spinal cord injuries.

"It's a great idea," says Peter Schmidt of the National Parkinson Foundation in Miami, Florida. He says projected lines are a great aid, but up until now they've only been built into canes and walkers.

This article appeared in print under the headline "Smart shoes with lasers make strides in mobility"