StimuLOOP: Restoring Gait through Personalized Training and Sleep Modulation

StimuLOOP develops new therapeutic approaches for people who have suffered a stroke or have Parkinson’s disease, conditions that often cause gait disorders and severely limit independence in daily life. The goal is to specifically improve walking and to provide long-term support for learning processes in the brain through acoustic stimulation during sleep.

During training, patients receive direct feedback on their gait. This allows them to adjust their movements step by step and improve them in a targeted manner. In addition, learning during sleep is supported by playing soft tones during deep sleep. To achieve this, patients use a mobile EEG device during rehabilitation over a three-week period, which automatically detects deep sleep and plays the tones at defined times via integrated headphones.

Since gait abnormalities vary greatly from person to person, existing therapies do not work equally well for everyone. StimuLOOP seeks to develop personalized treatments. This is based on comprehensive measurements: walking is analyzed in detail in a specialized gait laboratory. Wearable sensors track movements during daily life. Brain activity during sleep is measured at patients’ homes using a high-resolution electroencephalogram (hdEEG). Based on this data, the therapy can be individually tailored and specifically optimized.

StimuLOOP is a collaboration between ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich, and the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. The goal is to develop more effective and individually tailored therapies for neurorehabilitation in the long term.

Project Leader : Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Luft, Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsspital Zürich
Research group (Kispi): Prof. Dr. Reto Huber, Vanessa Kasties

Collaborations:
Prof. Dr. Roger Gassert, Departement Gesundheitswissenschaften und Technologie, ETH Zürich
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Baumann, Klinik für Neurologie, Universitätsspital Zürich
Prof. Dr. William Taylor, Departement Gesundheitswissenschaften und Technologie, ETH Zürich
Prof. Dr. Julia Vogt, Departement Informatik, ETH Zürich
Data Analytics & Rehabilitation Technology, Lake Lucerne Institute, Vitznau (LU)
cereneo Center for Neurology & Rehabilitation, Vitznau (LU)

Link to the project
StimuLOOP - The LOOP Zurich

The LOOP Zürich
Vontobel Stiftung