Step over walking aid

Abstract

An ambulatory assistance system includes an article of footwear adapted to be worn on a foot of a user or walking aid devices; and a barrier coupled to the article of footwear such that, when the article of footwear is worn on a foot of the user, at least a portion of the barrier extends into a visually engagable region that is adjacent to a medial side of the one foot of the user, that is visible to the user, and that lies in a path of movement of another foot of the user. Further, the barrier may be coupled to the article of footwear via an attachment. Moreover, the ambulatory assistance system may be adapted for use with one or two articles of footwear.

Description

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 750,486, filed Dec. 14, 2005, which is incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.BACKGROUND [0002] 1. Field of Invention [0003] Embodiments exemplarily disclosed herein relate generally to ambulatory assistance systems adapted to assist persons afflicted with diseases such as Parkinsonism, Parkinson's disease, etc., in overcoming a sudden loss of mobility or motor block episode, i.e., “freezing.”[0004] 2. Discussion of the Related Art [0005] Parkinsonism, Parkinson's disease, and other similar diseases are neurological disorders caused by imbalance of chemical messengers in the central nervous system. This disease can result in loss of control over voluntary movement in the patient. People who suffer from Parkinson's disease and Parkinsonism but are often not positively affected by medication. Some of the well known symptoms are resting tremor, i.e., shaking; muscular rigidity or stiffness; slow...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The patent describes an ambulatory assistance system that includes a barrier or visual stimulation means that is attached to a user's footwear or foot. This barrier or visual stimulation means helps to guide the user's movement and provides visual cues to the user. The technical effect of this system is to improve the user's stability, balance, and overall mobility."

Problems solved by technology

This disease can result in loss of control over voluntary movement in the patient.

However, walking can still be affected by immobility or freezing.

This can happen while walking (e.g., when walking towards an obstacle or as others walk towards them), and can lead to loss of balance and falls.

Adjusting the PD medication will not always solve this problem.

Coping with “freezing episodes” can be annoying and frustrating to the patient.

Where this happens frequently, the patient is often afraid to go out or to engage in any sort of mobility activity.

In practice, however, this strategy is often not useful.

Other strategies include changing the visual focus to a distant point instead of looking directly down, counting a cadence or marching in place, or rocking from side to side to break the “freeze.” These strategies can be successful for some PD patients, but can lose their effectiveness over time.

Therefore, these strategies are not always useful to a person suffering from PD or Parkinsonism.

Furthermore, as Parkinsonism, PD, and the like, are progressive diseases, eventually these strategies are not useful to the afflicted person.

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