�鶹��madou

Walking is something many of us barely think about. Putting one foot in front of the other is an unconscious, almost automatic movement. But for someone with Parkinson’s Disease, which impairs motor functions, controlling their body to take those steps may involve huge mental effort. 

The Walking Tall smartphone app, developed by a team led by �鶹��madou’s Associate Professor Dr Matthew A. Brodie and released in August 2023, is already helping thousands of people with Parkinson’s regain their confidence in walking, allowing them to stay active and independent for longer.

How the Walking Tall app helps people with Parkinson’s Disease

The Walking Tall app leads users through a walking program that retrains their gait. Users match their paces to a specified metronome beat, reducing the mental effort involved in walking and retraining their body. It also has instructions such as ‘walk tall’, ‘shoulders back’ and ‘focus on big steps’.

Remarkably, it can produce improvements with just six minutes of training, three times a week.

“Every week, I’ve received messages from people telling me how it's changed their life,” says Matthew, a neuroscientist and engineer who also teaches mechanics of the human body at the �鶹��madou School of Biomedical Engineering. “Because they're able to walk much better, they’re eating better, they’re sleeping better – they’re feeling a lot better.”

Available free in and versions, the Walking Tall app had more than 5,000 downloads by the end of 2023.

Developing the app with people with Parkinson’s 

The app evolved from a decentralised clinical trial led by Matthew and funded by the Shake It Up Australia Foundation and the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Further development was supported by a Tyree Institute of Health Engineering (Tyree IHealthE) Catalyst Grant. 

Uniquely, because of COVID, Matthew and his team never met the study participants in person. Everything was done remotely using iPads, video conferencing, wearable technology and telehealth systems developed at �鶹��madou by the School of Biomedical Engineering’s software foundry and from Matthew’s home office.

“At the end of that study, we interviewed all the participants about what worked for them,” says Matthew. “One of the things they liked best was the remarkable improvement in walking ability they experienced using the phone app with a metronome beat that guided stepping. The Walking Tall app, which we recently released, includes an improved and streamlined version of this walking feature that will be free forever. It was designed for community use by people without a serious medical condition.”  

The response from users has been positive and powerful.

“I love it,” wrote one user. “I have PD and it helps balance.I recommend it to whoever is interested.Please more of these awesome exercises which can be done in and outside. I am hooked.”

Matthew set up a company, Walking Tall Health (WTH), to manage the app. By mid 2024, he was seeking philanthropic investment to release an app update with new, more powerful features based on new user feedback and requests to translate the Walking Tall app into additional languages.

“WTH has an achievable vision to help over 5 million people with Parkinson’s walk in five years,” he explains.

What is Parkinson’s Disease? 

Parkinson’s Disease is the second most common neurological disease in Australia after dementia, . It isn’t fatal, but its consequences can rob people of their independence and enjoyment of life. 

The neurodegenerative disorder affects dopamine-producing neurons deep in the brain. As dopamine production reduces, motor system nerves are unable to control movement and coordination. 

For some people that manifests as tremors. For others, it affects their posture, balance and walking. They have to deal with such as muscles freezing, shuffling and shortened steps. Changes in brain chemistry can also result in .

Focusing on research with immediate impact

Matthew explains that his goal with research is to focus on things that will have an impact now, not in 10 years’ time. Equally important is working with the people who will have to use a device. 

“The key thing about why the Walking Tall app has been so successful is we listened to the community about what they wanted,” he says.

Following on from the clinical trial, Matthew is leading a $1.2 million Development Grant, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, to develop a Class II medical neuronal stimulation device to improve the walking ability of people living with Parkinson’s – but delivering this new device will take time and considerable additional investment. 

“We could help millions and millions of people,” he says. “Making this happen requires a ground swell of community support and we welcome collaboration from people who share this vision.”