Funding tool: Basic research projects
Project-ID: FTI23-G-016
Project start: 01. Juni 2024
Project end: 31. Mai 2027
Runtime: 36 months / ongoing
Funding amount: € 360.000,00

Brief summary:
Parkinson's Disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide with up to 70% of patients exhibiting Freezing of Gait (FOG). FOG is defined as transient episodes when one is unable to effectively engage in the stepping process (despite the intention to walk) which substantially decreases or completely ceases forward movement. Thus, FOG poses a substantial risk to mobility, independence, and safety. FOG is highly heterogeneous as well as individualistic and is triggered by various physical, environmental, and neuropsychological factors. This creates substantial difficulty in triggering FOG in research settings which contributes to the stagnation in its research and therapy. While current FOG triggering protocols exist, they are limited as they only replicate specific aspects of gait or do not encompass the multitude of FOG triggers. However, virtual reality (VR) offers the potential to develop a FOG triggering environment during unrestricted walking while integrating multiple triggers in a single environment. Although current VR methods can elicit FOG, these solutions only utilize specific triggers thereby limiting their application in the study of FOG. Moreover, these VR methods are not publicly accessible as an Open-Source solution. To effectively progress FOG research and treatment, a VR toolbox must integrate multiple FOG triggers in a valid and open-source solution which is accessible worldwide. Thus, the aims of VReeze are to: 1) Develop an open-source VR-FOG toolbox that integrates multiple FOG triggers that is based on affordable and commercially available VR headsets. This toolbox will provide clinicians and researchers, world-wide, with an innovative digital solution for the study and treatment of FOG that requires no specialized technical know-how. 2) Validate the VR-FOG toolbox with two separate samples of Freezers in an international collaboration between Austria and the United Kingdom.

Keywords:
#VirtualReality #Digitalization #ParkinsonsDisease #DigitalHealth #Biomechanics