BU receives $2M grant to study MedRhythms' MOVIVE device for Parkinson's gait

Boston University (BU) today announced it has been awarded a $2 million research grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF). The funding will support a clinical study evaluating motor and cognitive factors associated with changes in walking for people with Parkinson's disease who use MedRhythms' MOVIVE (MR-005), a safe, use-at-home medical device that delivers rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) to support gait rehabilitation and motor function.

This study was funded through The Michael J. Fox Foundation's Personalized Approaches for Understanding, Assessing and Improving Gait in Parkinson's Disease research program, which supports clinical research focused on addressing the wide variability of gait challenges experienced by people with Parkinson's disease. The program prioritizes studies like this one that seek to better understand the motor and cognitive contributors to gait impairment and to inform more tailored approaches to assessment and intervention.

Walking impairments are among the most common and disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This award reflects The Michael J. Fox Foundation's commitment to accelerating scalable, evidence-based approaches, like rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), for people living with PD."

Dr. Terry Ellis, Professor and Director of the Center for Neurorehabilitation at Boston University and study's Lead Investigator

MOVIVE delivers personalized, adaptive, music-based RAS that responds in real time to users' walking patterns using shoe-worn gait sensors and algorithm-driven software. By enabling autonomous use in the home, MOVIVE is designed to expand access to neurorehabilitation and support ongoing motor function.

This study will investigate motor and cognitive responses to a three-month, at-home intervention with MOVIVE utilizing a comprehensive set of gait, mobility, and cognitive assessments. Innovative mobile brain imaging using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) will examine neural substrates that underlie changes in gait performance in a cohort of participants to explore brain-based markers of cognitive load and individual variability in response to RAS-based gait training.

"MedRhythms is honored to support this important study funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation and led by Dr. Terry Ellis of Boston University, a leader in the field" said Brian Harris, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at MedRhythms. "We look forward to the impact that this study may have on advancing important care for people living with Parkinson's disease"

Boston University and MedRhythms have a longstanding research collaboration, including prior feasibility studies of MOVIVE and related technologies. These earlier investigations demonstrated promising outcomes in stride length, walking speed, and gait automaticity.

This study plans to enroll 160 participants at three academic medical centers: Boston University, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Utah. MedRhythms will provide devices and technical support for the study at no cost to the project.