gaitQ®’s journey begins as the founders, from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG) and The Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), participate in the Oxford BioDesign programme. Branching out from their original research topics, they explore the issues faced by people with Parkinson’s. After several interviews with Parkinson’s sufferers, their carers and family, and specialized consultants, they identified gait-freezing as a major challenge that led to loss of independence, reduced activity, frustration and increased risk of falling.
Cueing
During this investigation, cueing was found to be a simple but effective strategy to combat gait freezing. However, a practical way to implement it in everyday life is currently lacking in the market. The founders then created the concept of the gaitQ® system as a way to seamlessly deliver somatosensory cues to help people with Parkinson’s to walk better and be more independent and active, winning the prize for best project in 2016’s Oxford BioDesign Programme.