Effects of stroboscopic visual training on TUG and 6MWT performances in subjects with incomplete spinal cord injury using DeepLabCut markerless pose estimation system

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of stroboscopic glasses, integrated to a specific motor training, in influencing balance and gait performance in individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI). Ten patients with iSCI (AIS D) were enrolled for this study and performed a 6-weeks home-based balance training program, 3 times per week. Individuals were randomly assigned to an experimental group (EG) and placebo control group (PCG; n = 5). EG (n = 5) executed balance training program with active stroboscopic glasses (SVT), while PCG (n = 5) completed the same program of exercise with non-active glasses. At baseline and at the end of the training, gait and balance performances were evaluated using the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) and the 6 Minutes Walking Test (6MWT). Additionally, 6 normal subjects, as healthy control group, underwent the same assessment once and their data were used as a reference of physiological balance and gait. All performances were recorded with a frontal and a lateral video camera. Videos were analyzed with markerless pose estimation of DeepLabCut (DLC) and a 3D reconstruction of motor performance allowed to investigate spatiotemporal and kinematic features during TUG and 6MWT. Preliminary results suggest that specific balance protocol with SVT modulate balance and gait in chronic iSCI subjects.