Clinical Research Directory

At-home Walking Cadence Functional Assessment and Recovery Trajectory for Older Adults Undergoing Major Surgery

This is a prospective observational study looking at gait-cadence in older adults who are scheduled to have major abdominal surgery at the University of Chicago. The objective of the study is to evaluate whether gait-cadence, as measured from a patient's mobile device at-home, can provide an accurate assessment of a patient's functional status prior to major abdominal surgery and identify patients at risk of poor functional outcomes.

Split-belt Treadmill Training to Rehabilitate Freezing of Gait and Balance in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) related gait and balance disorders are challenging to treat because they cannot be optimized with pharmacological intervention alone. This treatment gap is important to address because gait asymmetry and incoordination are associated with increased falls in this population, which can be functionally debilitating and lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Freezing of gait (FOG) has also been associated with reduced quality of life independent of its association with impaired mobility. Gait disorders therefore represent an unmet need in the treatment of PD. A split-belt treadmill (SB-TM) can be used to adjust the speed of each leg separately and individuals can be prompted to 'adapt' to an asymmetric gait and 're-adapt' with return to symmetrical gait in a phenomenon known as 'after-effect'.