Soft Robotic Suit Stops Gait Freezing in Parkinson's
Author: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
Published: 5 Jan 2024 - Updated: 4 Nov 2026
Publication Details: Peer-Reviewed | News
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content
Synopsis
This research from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Boston University, published in the peer reviewed journal Nature Medicine, tested a soft wearable robot on freezing of gait, a common and disabling symptom of Parkinson's disease in which the feet suddenly stop moving mid-stride. Worn around the hips and thighs, the garment gives a gentle push as each leg swings forward, lengthening the stride. In a six-month study with a 73-year-old man who froze more than 10 times a day despite medication and surgery, the device eliminated freezing indoors and greatly reduced it outdoors. The work is important for people with Parkinson's, their families and therapists because freezing is a leading cause of falls and loss of independence.*
At a Glance
- 1 - The participant could walk and talk at the same time without freezing.
- 2 - The device worked right away, without any special training for the wearer.
- 3 - Cable-driven actuators and sensors estimate the phase of each step and time the assistance to it.
- 4 - Before the study, the participant relied on a scooter outdoors because freezing caused frequent falls.
Topic Definition
- Freezing of Gait
Freezing of gait is a sudden, brief episode in which a person, most often with Parkinson's disease, feels as if their feet are glued to the floor and cannot step forward despite trying. It commonly happens when starting to walk, turning, passing through doorways or when distracted, often shows as short shuffling steps, and is a major cause of falls and lost independence.
Overview
Freezing is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 9 million people worldwide. When individuals with Parkinson's disease freeze, they suddenly lose the ability to move their feet, often mid-stride, resulting in a series of staccato stutter steps that get shorter until the person stops altogether. These episodes are one of the biggest contributors to falls among people living with Parkinson's disease. Today, freezing is treated with a range of pharmacological, surgical or behavioral therapies, none of which are particularly effective.
What if There Was a Way to Stop Freezing Altogether?
Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Boston University Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences have used a soft, wearable robot to help a person living with Parkinson's walk without freezing. The robotic garment, worn around the hips and thighs, gives a gentle push to the hips as the leg swings, helping the patient achieve a longer stride.
The device completely eliminated the participant's freezing while walking indoors, allowing them to walk faster and further than they could without the garment's help.
"We found that just a small amount of mechanical assistance from our soft robotic apparel delivered instantaneous effects and consistently improved walking across a range of conditions for the individual in our study," said Conor Walsh, the Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS and co-corresponding author of the study.
The research demonstrates the potential of soft robotics to treat this frustrating and potentially dangerous symptom of Parkinson's disease and could allow people living with the disease to regain not only their mobility but their independence.
For over a decade, Walsh's Biodesign Lab at SEAS has been developing assistive and rehabilitative robotic technologies to improve mobility for individuals post-stroke and those living with ALS or other diseases that impact mobility. Some of that technology, specifically an exosuit for post-stroke gait retraining, received support from the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and was licensed and commercialized by ReWalk Robotics.
In 2022, SEAS and Sargent College received a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to support the development and translation of next-generation robotics and wearable technologies. The research is centered at the Move Lab, whose mission is to support advances in human performance enhancement with the collaborative space, funding, R&D infrastructure, and experience necessary to turn promising research into mature technologies that can be translated through collaboration with industry partners.
This Research Emerged From That Partnership
"Leveraging soft wearable robots to prevent freezing of gait in patients with Parkinson's required a collaboration between engineers, rehabilitation scientists, physical therapists, biomechanists and apparel designers," said Walsh, whose team collaborated closely with that of Terry Ellis, Professor and Physical Therapy Department Chair and Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation at Boston University.
The team spent six months working with a 73-year-old man with Parkinson's disease, who - despite using both surgical and pharmacologic treatments - endured substantial and incapacitating freezing episodes more than 10 times a day, causing him to fall frequently. These episodes prevented him from walking around his community and forced him to rely on a scooter to get around outside.
In previous research, Walsh and his team leveraged human-in-the-loop optimization to demonstrate that a soft, wearable device could be used to augment hip flexion and assist in swinging the leg forward to provide an efficient approach to reduce energy expenditure during walking in healthy individuals.
Here, the researchers used the same approach but to address freezing. The wearable device uses cable-driven actuators and sensors worn around the waist and thighs. Using motion data collected by the sensors, algorithms estimate the phase of the gait and generate assistive forces in tandem with muscle movement.
The Effect Was Instantaneous
Without any special training, the patient was able to walk without any freezing indoors and with only occasional episodes outdoors. He was also able to walk and talk without freezing, a rarity without the device.
"Our team was really excited to see the impact of the technology on the participant's walking," said Jinsoo Kim, former PhD student at SEAS and co-lead author on the study.
During the study visits, the participant told researchers:
"The suit helps me take longer steps and when it is not active, I notice I drag my feet much more. It has really helped me, and I feel it is a positive step forward. It could help me to walk longer and maintain the quality of my life."
"Our study participants who volunteer their time are real partners," said Walsh. "Because mobility is difficult, it was a real challenge for this individual to even come into the lab, but we benefited so much from his perspective and feedback."
The device could also be used to better understand the mechanisms of gait freezing, which is poorly understood.
"Because we don't really understand freezing, we don't really know why this approach works so well," said Ellis. "But this work suggests the potential benefits of a 'bottom-up' rather than 'top-down' solution to treating gait freezing. We see that restoring almost-normal biomechanics alters the peripheral dynamics of gait and may influence the central processing of gait control."
The Research and Co-authors
The research was co-authored by Jinsoo Kim, Franchino Porciuncula, Hee Doo Yang, Nicholas Wendel, Teresa Baker and Andrew Chin. Asa Eckert-Erdheim and Dorothy Orzel also contributed to the design of the technology, as well as Ada Huang, and Sarah Sullivan managed the clinical research. It was supported by the National Science Foundation under grant CMMI-1925085; the National Institutes of Health under grant NIH U01 TR002775; and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Collaborative Research and Development Matching Grant.
The research was published in Nature Medicine.
Talking while Walking Puts Parkinson's Patients at Risk for Falls
Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)
How common is freezing of gait in Parkinson's?
It becomes more common as the disease progresses, and many people with advanced Parkinson's experience it at some point. It can also occur in other conditions that affect movement.
What cues can help someone stop freezing?
Many people find that stepping over a line on the floor, walking to a metronome beat, counting out loud or shifting weight from side to side helps them start moving again.
Can medication help freezing in Parkinson's?
Freezing that happens when medication wears off may improve with dose changes, but freezing during on periods often responds poorly, which is why non-drug approaches are being studied.
Is the soft robotic suit available to buy?
No. It is a research device that has been tested with one participant and would need larger trials and regulatory review before it could be sold.
What is a soft exosuit?
A soft exosuit is a wearable robot made from textiles, straps and cables instead of rigid frames. It applies small forces at joints such as the hip or ankle to assist movement.
How can falls be prevented in Parkinson's disease?
Physical therapy, balance training, removing trip hazards, good lighting, proper footwear and walking aids can reduce falls. A therapist can tailor a plan to each person.
Why is walking while talking hard for some people with Parkinson's?
Doing two tasks at once divides attention, and because walking becomes less automatic in Parkinson's, the extra mental load can trigger freezing or unsteadiness.
Who can help with mobility problems in Parkinson's?
Neurologists, physical and occupational therapists, and specialist Parkinson's nurses can assess walking problems and recommend therapy, aids or treatment changes.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: Freezing of gait responds poorly to medicines and surgery, and the fear of falling it creates can keep people with Parkinson's at home. A light garment that helps the hip swing the leg forward offers a very different, mechanical approach, and the researchers suggest it may even change how the brain controls walking. The evidence so far comes from a single participant, so trials with more people, longer use and real-world settings are needed before it could become a prescribed device. People who freeze can ask a physical therapist now about proven strategies such as visual and auditory cues while this technology develops.*
Attribution/Source(s): This peer-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally issued as a press release by Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and published on 5 Jan 2024. Last updated on 4 Nov 2026. This content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.
* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.