The Use of Virtual Reality for the Gait Training of Elderly Fallers

Gait Training Intervention to Evaluate the Efficacy of Using Virtual Reality to Decrease Fall Risk in the Elderly Population

Status

UNKNOWN

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01182961

Acronym

VR-Fallers

Enrollment

Registered

2010-08-17

Start date

2010-09-30

Completion date

2013-04-30

Last updated

2010-08-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Elderly

Keywords

Gait, Falls, Virtual reality

Brief summary

The study aims to investigate the efficacy of gait training using virtual reality to decrease the risk of falls in elderly idiopathic fallers. The investigator hypothesize that training with virtual reality would increase the ability to perform in the real world environment and decrease the risk of falls in elderly adults.

Detailed description

The study is a prospective single-blinded randomized control study with repeated measures at pre intervention, post intervention and follow up at 3 and 6 months post intervention. For six months after termination of the intervention, all subjects will fill out a log book in which they will write the occurrence and date of falls. total time of participation in the study will be 8 months.

Interventions

OTHERgait training

subjects will walk on a treadmill while virtual obstacles will be displayed using a head mounted device

OTHERgait training 2

subjects will walk on a treadmill under a progressive intensive gait protocol

OTHERexercise group

standard of care exercise group to improve strength and balance

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

65 Years to 85 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* between the ages of 65-85 * independent in activities of daily living * able to walk without assistance for at least 10 minutes * cognitively intact (Mini Mental State Exam ≥24) * reported 2 or more falls within 6 months prior to the beginning of the study

Exclusion criteria

* any neurological, orthopedic or any other impairment likely to impact gait. * severe visual impairments * major depression as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Gait dynamics	one week after training	using an accelerometer, the coefficient of variation will be calculated

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
cognitive function	one week after training	using a cmputerized cognitive battary and neuropsychological testing

Countries

Israel

Contacts

Primary ContactAnat Mirelman, PhD

anatmi@tasmc.health.gov.il+972 3 6974958

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026