A mixed reality approach to verify the feasibility of monitoring Parkinson's disease gait impairments - 11/06/26

Doi : 10.1016/j.irbm.2026.100949

Cristina P. Santos ^a,^b,^c,^d,^{^⁎} , Beatriz Miranda ^a,^b, Helena R. Gonçalves ^a,^b,^{^⁎} , Ana Margarida Rodrigues ^c,^d

^a Center for MicroElectroMechanical Systems, University of Minho, 4804 - 533 Guimarães, Portugal

^b LABBELS - Associate Laboratory, 4800 - 058 Guimarães, Portugal

^c Neurology Service, Hospital of Braga, 4710-243 Braga, Portugal

^d Clinical Academic Center, 4710-243 Braga, Portugal

^⁎ Corresponding authors at: Center for MicroElectroMechanical Systems, University of Minho, 4804 - 533 Guimarães, Portugal. Center for MicroElectroMechanical Systems University of Minho Guimarães 4804 - 533 Portugal

Sous presse. Manuscrit accepté. Disponible en ligne depuis le Thursday 11 June 2026
Cet article a été publié dans un numéro de la revue, cliquez ici pour y accéder

Abstract

Background:

The application of virtual dimensions as mixed reality (MR) integrated into smart glasses brings a new concept for Parkinson's disease (PD) gait monitoring, which immerses patients in interactive, personalized virtual environments closer to everyday life. This study introduces a novel MR approach to monitor gait impairments in PD.

Methods:

Two virtual environments, customized to patients' daily motor challenges, were developed for the MR smart glasses HoloLens. A new cross-sectional study was conducted with ten PD patients to validate the proposed solution.

Results:

It was verified that the proposed MR-based solution could immerse patients in daily environments and evoke gait-associated impairments ( ρ -value≤0.018), being observed significant gait alterations in patients' gait cadence, step time, stance/swing phase, and freezing of gait episodes. Also, patients showed great enthusiasm for using the implemented MR-based technologies.

Conclusions:

Overall, this research introduced the MR-based approach as a complementary tool for motor monitoring of PD-related gait disabilities.

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Graphical abstract

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Highlights

•	Mixed reality introduces a solution for feasible Parkinson's disease gait monitoring
•	Proposed virtual scenarios aimed to mimic and induce daily gait challenges
•	Customized scenarios with home virtual objects were included, such as a doorway
•	The new solution was combined with a motion analysis system to measure patients' gait
•	Patients showed gait disturbances when immersed in the employed virtual scenarios