Design and assessment of the feasibility of a diagnostic and rehabilitation device for gait re-education

Mariusz Drużbicki; Adrian Kordos; Damian Kordos; Agnieszka Guzik

doi:10.37190/abb/224359

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Design and assessment of the feasibility of a diagnostic and rehabilitation device for gait re-education

Acta of Bioengineering and Biomechanics

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 2 (June 2026)

By: Mariusz Drużbicki , Adrian Kordos, Damian Kordos and Agnieszka Guzik

Open Access

|Oct 2026

Abstract

Purpose

Gait after a stroke is characterized by a number of abnormalities, such as reduced walking speed, impaired stability, as well as asymmetry. This study presents a novel assistive device designed to aid gait training in stroke survivors by providing integrated visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli informing about lower limb weight-bearing and step length symmetry.

Methods

Nine patients with hemiparesis at an early stage post-stroke were included in the study. A markerless 3D system was applied to assess gait. Participants walked at self-selected pace and were wearing their own orthotic devices. Gait speed, step length, gait phase duration, and cadence were measured. A symmetry index was calculated for step length and lower limb weight-bearing. The program consisted of ten gait training sessions with the assistive device, each session taking 30 min.

Results

Improved gait parameters were observed when acoustic and visual prompting was applied alone or in combination with tactile prompting. At the end of the program, decrease in step length asymmetry was observed and there was no statistically significant difference in the mean step length between the paretic and non-paretic lower limb (p = 0.002). An improvement was shown in the distribution of lower limb weight-bearing in a standing position, and the mean value of limb weight-bearing symmetry index was significantly lower compared to the baseline (p = 0.0001).

Conclusion

Integrated tactile, auditory, and visual prompting may beneficially affect post-stroke gait rehabilitation, by inducing improvements in gait pattern, symmetry, body balance, and walking speed.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37190/abb/224359 | Journal eISSN: 2450-6303 | Journal ISSN: 1509-409X

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Language: English

Page range: 121 - 130

Submitted on: Mar 31, 2026

Accepted on: Jun 9, 2026

Published on: Oct 16, 2026

Published by: Wroclaw University of Science and Technology

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 4 issues per year

Keywords:

Gait,

Rehabilitation,

Stroke,

Symmetry

Related subjects:

Engineering,

Bioengineering and biomedical engineering,

Cellular and tissue engineering,

Biomechanics,

Medicine,

Biomedical engineering,

Materials sciences,

Biomaterials and natural materials

© 2026 Mariusz Drużbicki, Adrian Kordos, Damian Kordos, Agnieszka Guzik, published by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Volume 28 (2026): Issue 2 (June 2026)