Reynold Greenlaw and Andy Muddiman attended the Oxford Startups demo night at Oxford Launchpad in the Said Business School, on 15th May where they demoed the GaitAssist smartphone app that has been developed for the Cupid project. They demoed it pretty much continuously at our very busy table to the many interested attendees and our communications manager Janine Smith joined in to lend a hand.
The app continuously compares the gait of a user with Parkinson’s disease during walking with an “optimal gait” calibrated with a clinician. Based on evaluation of the specific patient, the most important gait parameters (e.g. step length, cadence) are set for future training sessions. The app gives the user feedback on how well they are doing and uses a technique to help Parkinson’s gait called audio cueing.
Andy and Reynold demoing the app
Data on gait performance is visible to the clinician who can then adjust the exercise remotely forming a feedback loop between the user and the doctor. You can take a look at the demo itself on this video of Audio Bio-Feedback in action.
This event was organized by the Oxford Academic Health Science Network which brings together clinicians, academics and the public to promote best health in the region.
The Oxford Launchpad was launched in February 2014. It is a new space for entrepreneurial activity housed within the Said Business School, University of Oxford.