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

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 impacting 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 article, 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.

Automated summary

Trip-related falls are a significant concern, particularly for older adults and individuals with gait impairments. This article presents a wearable system that measures minimum toe clearance (MTC) in real time using ToF sensors and provides auditory biofeedback. The study found significant differences in MTC values between the feedback and retention sessions, suggesting that the proposed system has the potential to reduce tripping risks in older adults and gait-impaired populations.