Do you work with any clients who have trouble clearing their foot in swing phase of gait? If you said yes, this episode is for you! Dr. Tyler Susko, the founder and CTO of Cadense, Inc. is here to share the fascinating origin story behind Cadense's flagship product - the world's first variable friction shoes.

The concept stemmed from Dr. Susko's PhD research at MIT, where he developed the "MIT Skywalker" - a robotic system that allowed patients to walk by dropping the floor during the swing phase. A comment from a research participant led Dr. Susko to create a passive, material-based shoe design that can dynamically adjust its coefficient of friction.

Through extensive prototyping and user testing, the Cadense shoes have shown promising results for patients with a variety of neurological conditions, including stroke, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. The shoes help facilitate foot clearance and improve gait symmetry and rhythmicity.

If you want to see these for yourself and try them out Cadense offers a free pair to clinicians who sign up for the Cadense Coaches program. The program provides free shoes and support to clinicians interested in incorporating the technology into their practice. He also shares exciting plans for future research and development, including projects on AFO-compatible shoes and variable friction on different sides of the shoe.

Learn more about Cadense and the Cadense Coaching Program at https://cadense.com 

Follow them on IG @cadenseadaptive