Beeping shoes boost walking ability in Parkinson's disease.

A recent study conducted by researchers at Physio Biometrics in Montreal, Canada, has found that shoes equipped with a sensor called Heel2Toe can improve stability in individuals with Parkinson's disease. The sensor clips onto the inside of the shoes and sends a signal to a smartphone via Bluetooth when the user walks with a strong heel-to-toe motion, producing a beeping sound as a reward. In a study involving 21 participants with gait issues, 13 out of 14 individuals who wore the sensor showed improvement in their walking distance after three months. While the sensor's effect on dopamine levels in the brain was not tested, the researchers suggest that it may stimulate a dopamine-driven reward and feedback loop that compensates for the chemical reduction in individuals with Parkinson's. [Extracted from the article]

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