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PD FOG – Cueing Strategies — SCE Neurology MCQ

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HardMovement DisordersPD FOG – Cueing StrategiesSCE Neurology

A person with Parkinson’s disease freezes at doorways despite optimised dopaminergic treatment. Gait initiates only while a wearable device projects a transverse laser line ahead of the foot, and the effect disappears when the line is switched off. Which interpretation best fits the device’s intended action?

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Correct answer: B — It acts as an external attentional cue that converts gait initiation into stepping over a visible target

The projected line is an external visual obstacle and attentional target. Directing the person to step over it can bypass difficulty with internally generated gait initiation, so an immediate on–off effect is expected. The device does not strengthen muscle, deliver dopamine or permanently recalibrate postural reflexes. Benefit is task- and person-specific and should sit within specialist physiotherapy and medication review rather than be presented as a universal disease-modifying effect.

Reference: NICE MIB170: Laser shoes for Parkinson’s disease — the technology. https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/mib170/chapter/The-technology