Six bioengineering students from Houston-based Rice University created an augmented reality app to support patients with Parkinson's disease.
The iPhone app, which the seniors developed as part of their capstone design project, aims to guide patients who "freeze" while walking, a symptom of the disease in which a person's legs temporarily do not follow the brain's commands to move forward, according to an April 10 university statement.
Existing tools to address freezing tend to focus on providing the patient with a visual cue. One tool, which the team refers to as the "state of the art" solution, is a cane with a laser attachment. Each time a user places the cane down, a laser line appears to cue the user to step over it.
The students' AR app builds on existing solutions by incorporating three types of cues — visual, audio and vibratory — which recent research has shown help patients overcome freezing.
With the app, a user can point the phone at the floor or sidewalk in front of them to place an image of a block or circle where their foot should land. Users can also set up the app to provide audio or sensory cues through the iPhone's sound and vibration capabilities.
The students are working with the Houston Area Parkinson Society to recruit patients to test the app at Rice University's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen.
"Our goal right now is to prove that the concept of augmented reality can be used in a therapeutic context while maintaining the user-friendly nature of smartphones," said team member Dan Burke.