Design and Evaluation of a Wearable Biofeedback Training System to Reduce Trip-Related Falls During Level Walking

Abstract

Trip-related falls are a major concern especially for older adults and individuals with gait impairments as they can lead to serious injuries, hospitalizations and negatively impact the quality of life. A low Minimum Toe Clearance (MTC) can be a predictor of tripping risk and thus, increasing the MTC is a possible way to reduce trip-related falls. In this paper, a wearable system is proposed that can measure the MTC in real-time using two Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors on the shoe and provide auditory biofeedback using a piezo buzzer. Ten healthy female adults were recruited to walk in four conditions: baseline, biofeedback, short retention (same day), and long retention (next day) to design and validate our gait training tool. Average MTC values were compared pre-feedback, post-feedback, and post-retention, and our analysis revealed significant differences between the feedback and retention sessions for the training system. Therefore, the proposed system has the potential to be used as a wearable training system to minimize tripping risks in older adults and gait-impaired populations.