Healthcare Professionals

Providing balance to people
with peripheral neuropathy

Technology Overview

Walkasins is a wearable, non-invasive lower limb sensory prosthesis intended to replace the nerve function used for detection and signaling of foot pressure sensation and is indicated for use by individuals with lower limb sensory peripheral neuropathy who present with gait and balance impairments and are at high risk of falls.

Walkasins In Use:

Veteran Participant >70 yrs old.

Functional Gait Assessment (FGA)
Item 8: Gait with Eyes Closed
“Walk at your normal pace from here to the next mark [20ft.] with your eyes closed.”

The principal focus for the design and development of the Walkasins technology is on the somatosensory system and the need to replace plantar pressure sensation in patients with Sensory Peripheral Neuropathy, thereby helping to improve their balance.

Sensory Peripheral Neuropathy (SPN)

Sensory Peripheral Neuropathy, or SPN, is a type of degenerative nerve damage that frequently affects sensory nerves in the soles of the feet that are responsible for signaling sense of touch, pressure and vibration – information that is crucial for our sense of balance.^1,2,3

Chart Leading Cause of Peripheral Neuropathy | RxFunction Sensory Neuroprosthesis

In individuals with SPN, the ability to accurately sense, measure and communicate plantar pressure information is compromised due to afferent nerve damage, often resulting in poor or staggered gait, which increases the risk of falls with the potential for serious injury.

Walkasins System - Haptic Module, Receptor Sole

Walkasins System consists of a Haptic Module worn around the ankle of each leg and a Receptor Sole inserted under the user’s foot in their shoe.

The Receptor Sole detects and transmits plantar pressure normally performed by mechanoreceptors and distal axons in the soles of the feet. The Haptic Module generates directional specific mechanical tactile stimuli that produce action potentials that signal relevant balance information to the nervous system.

This sensory input is naturally used by the brain to control movement and balance function.

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Walkasins Mechanism of Action

Walkasins provides afferent nerve stimulation for patients with Peripheral Neuropathy by replacing the ability to sense and communicate important plantar pressure information needed for gait and balance function.

Learn more about Walkasins

CLINICAL RESEARCH

FOR PRESCRIBERS

Indication for Use

Walkasins is indicated for patients with lower limb sensory peripheral neuropathy who present with gait and balance impairments. Walkasins is indicated for patients who can feel the tactile stimuli from the Haptic Module on the lower leg.

Please see the Safety Information for a complete list of warnings, precautions, and contraindications.

Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician.

¹Strzalkowski NDJ, Peters RM, Inglis JT, Bent LR Cutaneous afferent innervation of the human foot sole: what can we learn from single-unit recordings? J Neurophysiol. 2018 Sep 1;120(3):1233-1246. doi: 10.1152/jn.00848.2017. Epub 2018 Jun 6.

²Meyer PF, Oddsson LI, De Luca CJ. Reduced plantar sensitivity alters postural responses to lateral perturbations of balance. Exp Brain Res. 2004a Aug;157(4):526-36. Epub 2004 Mar 17.

³Meyer PF, Oddsson LI, De Luca CJ. The role of plantar cutaneous sensation in unperturbed stance. Exp Brain Res. 2004b Jun;156(4):505-12. Epub 2004 Feb 14.

⁴Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy, www.foundationforpn.org.

⁵Koehler-McNicholas SR, Danzl L, Cataldo AY, Oddsson LIE (2019) Neuromodulation to improve gait and balance function using a sensory neuroprosthesis in people who report insensate feet – A randomized control cross-over study. PLOS ONE 14(4): e0216212. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216212.

Providing balance to people with peripheral neuropathy