Public Thesis defense - IMMC

Gait rehabilitation with an active pelvis orthosis for patients with Parkinson's disease: model-based predictions and assessment of an adaptive framework by Virginie OTLET

Pour l’obtention du grade académique de Doctorat en sciences de l’ingénieur et technologie

Parkinson's disease results in various gait impairments such as reduced gait speed, stride length and cadence, as well as a reduced level of long-range autocorrelations in series of stride durations, a subtle aspect of natural gait variability. In this thesis, the effects on gait of a walking assistance based on adaptive oscillators, naturally adapting to the user’s gait kinematics, and delivered through an active pelvis orthosis, were examined.

In the first part of this thesis, we developed model-based predictions about the loss of long-range autocorrelations in Parkinsonian patients' gait and explored the potential of restoring these using the oscillator-based walking assistance. The findings indicated that this assistance could enhance gait variability in patients, holding promise for gait rehabilitation.

In the second part, we assessed the impact of the assistance on the level of long-range autocorrelations during experiments with healthy aging subjects. The results revealed that the assistance improved gait metrics typically affected by aging, such as hip range of motion, gait speed, stride length and duration, without altering natural gait variability.

In the final part, the influence of a four-week overground gait training with the assistance on Parkinsonian patients’ gait was investigated. The results showed improvements in hip range of motion, gait speed, stride length and duration after training, with sustained effects one month later. While the level of long-range autocorrelations in the patients’ gait normalized after training, they did not retain these improvements after one month.

Jury members :

• Prof. Renaud Ronsse (UCLouvain), supervisor
• Prof. Hervé Jeanmart (UCLouvain), chairperson
• Prof. Frédéric Crevecoeur (UCLouvain), secretary
• Prof. Thierry Lejeune (UCLouvain)
• Dr. Thibault Warlop (Centre Hospitalier de Wallonie picarde)
• Prof. Friedl De Groote (KU Leuven)
• Prof. Olivier White (Université de Bourgogne)

Pay attention :

The public defense of Virginie Otlet scheduled for Tuesday 28 November at 04:15 p.m will also take place in the form of a video conference

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