Gait asymmetry, one of the hallmarks of post stroke locomotion, often persists despite gait rehabilitation interventions, impacting negatively on functional mobility. Real-time feedback and biological cues have been studied extensively in recent years, but their applicability to post-stroke gait symmetry remain questionable. This proof-of-concept study examined the feasibility and instantaneous effects of real-time visual feedback provided in the form of an avatar in twelve participants with stroke on gait symmetry and other gait-related outcomes. The visual avatar was presented via three different views from the back, front and paretic side. Avatar feedback from the paretic side view showed significant increase in bilateral step length, paretic swing time and treadmill walking speed, but no significant differences were found in symmetry measures in any of the three views. Those who had changes in symmetry ratio >0 were grouped as responders to spatial symmetry improvement in the side view. The responders had a significantly higher Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment foot score and presented with a larger initial step length on the paretic side. Furthermore, all participants provided positive feedback and no adverse effects were observed during the experiment. Overall, these findings suggest that real-time avatar-based feedback can be used as an intervention to improve post-stroke gait asymmetry.

中文翻译：

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基于实时头像的反馈可增强中风后的时空参数对称性：不同头像视图的瞬时影响

步态不对称性是中风后运动的标志之一，尽管进行了步态康复干预，但通常仍会持续存在，从而对功能活动性产生负面影响。近年来，已经对实时反馈和生物学线索进行了广泛的研究，但是它们对中风后步态对称性的适用性仍存在疑问。这项概念验证研究研究了以十二个参与者的化身形式提供实时视觉反馈的可行性和即时影响步态对称性及其他与步态相关的结局。视觉化身是从背面，正面和模仿侧面通过三种不同的视图呈现的。从侧面侧视图的头像反馈显示，双侧步长，侧面摇摆时间和跑步机行走速度显着增加，但在这三种视图中的任何一种中，对称性度量均未发现显着差异。在侧视图中，那些将对称比更改为> 0的人归为对空间对称性改善的响应者。响应者的Chedoke-McMaster中风评估脚得分明显更高，并且在模仿侧具有较大的初始步长。此外，所有参与者均提供了积极的反馈，并且在实验过程中未观察到不良反应。总体而言，这些发现表明，基于化身的实时反馈可用作改善中风后步态不对称性的干预措施。响应者的Chedoke-McMaster中风评估脚得分明显更高，并且在模仿侧表现出较大的初始步长。此外，所有参与者均提供了积极的反馈，并且在实验过程中未观察到不良反应。总体而言，这些发现表明，基于化身的实时反馈可以用作改善中风后步态不对称性的干预措施。响应者的Chedoke-McMaster中风评估脚得分明显更高，并且在模仿侧具有较大的初始步长。此外，所有参与者都提供了积极的反馈，并且在实验过程中未观察到不良反应。总体而言，这些发现表明，基于化身的实时反馈可用作改善中风后步态不对称性的干预措施。