---
title: Predict falls by mapping movements
nct_id: NCT06405334
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
study_type: OBSERVATIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06405334"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06405334"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:05:51.045Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Predict falls by mapping movements

**Goal (in five words):** Predict falls by mapping movements

**Official Title:** Kinematic and Neural Dynamics of Postural Instability in Parkinson's Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT06405334](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06405334)

## Key Facts

- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** OBSERVATIONAL
- **Sponsor:** VA Office of Research and Development
- **Target Enrollment:** 100 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-11-01
- **Completion Date:** 2028-10-31
- **Conditions:** Parkinson's Disease

## Summary For Families

The goal is to map the movement patterns and brain signals that lead to balance problems and falls in people with Parkinson's, so future tests or treatments can better predict and prevent instability. Researchers will record body movements during balance tests with motion sensors and clinical measures, and for Veterans who already have a Percept-enabled subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulator they will also capture the device's neural recordings to link specific brain activity to instability. This is observational, so it will not change your current Parkinson's treatments. The study is enrolling Veterans aged 18 and up with clinician-diagnosed Parkinson's in Hoehn and Yahr stage 2 or 3 who can consent; people with other parkinsonism disorders, significant dementia that prevents consent, symptomatic orthostatic hypotension, or who are past stage 3 are excluded, and Aim 3 specifically requires an implanted STN DBS with a Percept device.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 18 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

Aims 1 and 2 Inclusion criteria:

* All Veterans with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease as made by their treating neurologist in Hoehn and Yahr stage 2-3 with the ability to give informed consent will be considered for possible participation in this study.
* Veterans cannot be past stage 3 as our measures depend on physical independence and fall risk prediction is less useful after stage 3.
* Capacity to consent will be assessed with the University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC).

  * A score of less than 14.5 will be used as the cut-off to decide whether a Veteran is capable of consenting as the false positive rate is zero below this score with marginal increases in sensitivity above this score (89% sensitivity, 100% specificity).

Aim 3

Inclusion criteria:

* In addition to the inclusion criteria for Aims 1 and 2, Veterans with an implanted STN DBS lead with a Percept device in place.

Exclusion Criteria:

Aims 1 and 2 Exclusion criteria:

* Veterans with dementia of sufficient severity to impair their ability to make healthcare related decisions for themselves will be excluded.
* Veterans with other forms of parkinsonism (PSP, CBGD, etc.) will be excluded.
* Veterans past H\&Y Stage 3 will be excluded.
* Veterans with symptomatic orthostatic hypotension (defined as sustained drop in systolic blood pressure by 20 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure by 10 mmHg within 3 minutes of standing after being supine for five minutes) will also be excluded as this is an entity the investigators are not characterizing and could confound/bias the dataset.

Aim 3:

Exclusion criteria:

* In addition to the exclusion criteria for Aims 1 and 2, Veterans with DBS leads implanted in other locations will be excluded.
```

## Locations (1)

- Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States _(44.9800, -93.2638)_
  - Robert A McGovern — (CONTACT) — (612) 629-7904 — Robert.McgovernIII@va.gov
  - Nicole Walker, MS — (CONTACT) — (612) 467-3229 — nicole.walker6@va.gov
  - Robert A McGovern — (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Robert A McGovern — (CONTACT) — (612) 629-7904 — Robert.McgovernIII@va.gov
- Nicole Walker, MS — (CONTACT) — (612) 467-3229 — nicole.walker6@va.gov

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06405334*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT06405334*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06405334*