Kolloquiumsvortrag: The computer games based dual task rehabilitation platform (CDT)

Abstract:
The elderly population is growing in developed countries such as Germany and Canada. There is a strong correlation between age, morbidity, and disability resulting from chronic diseases. Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurologic degenerative disease that affects not only the motor systems but also non-motor systems. One of the motor impairments seen in PD is gait dysfunction. Parkinsonian gait is typically characterized by three independent components – gait slowness (pace and rhythm), shuffling and an increased gait variability.

Approximately 30 percent individuals with PD exhibit deficits in Executive Cognitive Function (ECF).Inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility are three classifications of ECF. PD exhibit reduced cognitive flexibility which comprises of set-shifting, mental flexibility, and creativity, working memory as well as cognitive inhibition is also affected in PPD when compared with healthy age matched individuals. Besides balance and gait impairments several studies have associated increased risk of fall with the decline in the ECF in PPD. 

The CDT rehabilitation platform broadens the type of standardized visuomotor and executive cognitive activities that can be used for integrated assessment and training of balance, gait, visuomotor and cognitive function. A comprehensive analysis of gait stability

The proposed use of interactive digital media provides a flexible method to produce a wide range of executive cognitive activities while performing complex motor behaviors such as walking. The types and amount of cognitive stimulation that participants engage in during intervention needs to be objectively measured to understand the potential benefit of such activities in addition to physical exercises. E-quantification of cognitive-motor interactions has the potential to be a valid non-invasive biomarker for early detection of balance-mobility limitations and cognitive decline in the early stage of Parkinson’s disease.