New Paper by Husson Professor Ben Sidaway Reveals a Novel Approach to Improving Gait in Older Adults

Published on: January 13, 2025

A new paper published in the December 2024 issue of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering explores a recent study by a Husson professor and two others that looked at whether gait could be improved in older adults by also treating arm movements through a novel wearable haptic cueing system.

Ben Sidaway, PT, Ph.D., the Geneva Allen ’49 Professor in Health Sciences who teaches in the School of Physical Therapy, published a paper in the December 2024 issue of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering with Innes Khiyara and Babak Hejrati. "Utilizing Rhythmic Haptic Cueing in Arm Swing Training to Improve Gait Speed Among Older Adults," details a study in which inertial measurement units were used to track arm movements which then allowed vibratory devices placed on the arms to be be programmed to provide cues that increased walking speed in older adults.

The study results showed there is significant potential for haptic cueing systems to improve gait by encouraging arm swings and thereby leveraging interlimb neural coupling. 

Information about the paper is available through the National Library of Medicine.