A team of researchers from the University of Maine has created a new wearable device that helps older adults walk more steadily and confidently—by guiding the movement of their arms.
As people age, they may have trouble maintaining balance while walking, increasing their risk of falling.
This new invention aims to improve walking by focusing on a part of the body that’s often overlooked in gait training: the arms.
The small, lightweight device attaches to a person’s upper arms and uses gentle vibrations, known as haptic cues, to tell them when to move their arms.
These vibrations are timed to match the person’s natural walking rhythm and help them swing their arms in a smoother, more consistent pattern.
This may not seem like a big deal, but coordinated arm swinging actually plays a crucial role in balance, stability, and how efficiently the body uses energy while walking.
Most current gait training techniques focus on the legs, but the research team, led by Ph.D. candidate Ines Khiyara, wanted to see what would happen if they targeted arm movement instead.
Khiyara, who studies mechanical engineering with a focus on biomechanics and biorobotics, believes this approach could benefit many seniors—not just in Maine, the oldest state in the U.S., but around the world.
To test their idea, the team worked with 20 volunteers aged 65 to 92, with an average age of 73. When wearing the device, participants felt a vibration that signaled them to swing their arms forward.
Their arm and leg movements became more synchronized, which led to faster and more balanced walking. Many of the seniors reported feeling more stable while using the device.
The study, conducted with the help of mechanical engineering professor Babak Hejrati and health sciences professor Ben Sidaway from Husson University, was published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.
The researchers hope that because the device is small, affordable, and easy to use, it could eventually be available for at-home use. It may also be added to physical therapy and rehab programs to help older adults stay mobile and independent.
This arm-focused device is just one part of a larger project. The team is working on a full-body wearable robotic system that will support safe walking practice at home. Hejrati, who leads the university’s Biorobotics and Biomechanics Laboratory, says this system will help users train their entire body to move in a more coordinated way.
Beyond improving mobility in older adults, the team is also studying how the brain controls arm and leg movements while walking, hoping to better understand how to support people with mobility challenges.
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Source: University of Maine.
