I just came back from an NIH seminar on mobility and I saw a very impressive presentation by Robert Kenyon from University of Washington. He is using virtual reality to improve the gait of people with Parkinson's. It has long been known that the gait of people with PD improves when the individual has a barrier to step over. This barrier changes the task from an automatic response to a volitional movement so different neurological pathways are used (the exact neuro-biology is not well understood). Kenyon and his colleagues have created a visor that uses virtual reality to impose virtual barriers on the individual's visual field so the individual "sees" the barrier and thinks he/she is stepping over it. Immediately the gait is improved. We saw a videotape that was very impressive.
For more information, press here. Or use this Email to contact the appropriate people.
