---
title: Can personalized music improve walking
nct_id: NCT07705373
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: Boston University Charles River Campus
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07705373"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07705373"
last_fetched: "2026-08-04T14:00:14.236Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Can personalized music improve walking

**Goal (in five words):** Can personalized music improve walking

**Official Title:** A Novel Digital Music-based Autonomous Personalized Walking Intervention to Improve Gait and Walking Automaticity in Parkinson Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT07705373](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07705373)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** Boston University Charles River Campus
- **Target Enrollment:** 200 participants
- **Start Date:** 2026-08
- **Completion Date:** 2028-12-31
- **Conditions:** Parkinson's Disease (PD)
- **Interventions:** Digital Music Device (MedRhythms, Inc., Portland, ME)
- **Intervention Types:** DEVICE
- **Registry Record Last Updated:** 2026-08-04 (this month)

## Summary For Families

MyMusiQ is a 3-month community walking program that uses personalized music cues to try to improve walking quality, walking ability, how much and how intensely people walk, make walking feel more automatic and less mentally tiring, and boost quality of life. The program delivers tailored music through a digital music device from MedRhythms that adapts to your walking, and researchers will track changes with clinical tests and wearable sensors before, during, and after the program. Participation takes about four months (around 18 weeks) and involves several in-person visits at study sites in Boston, St. Louis, or Salt Lake City plus remote and sensor-based monitoring. They are enrolling adults 40 and older with a doctor-diagnosed, mild-to-moderate case of Parkinson's who can walk independently for at least 10 minutes, have stable Parkinson medications, can use the music device, and do not have major thinking or hearing problems, frequent falls, severe freezing, or other medical issues that make walking unsafe.

**Estimated commitment:** Lower commitment estimated from the protocol. This reflects time and procedures only — confirm details with the study coordinator.

## What This Actually Involves

**Placebo** _(From the protocol)_: Everyone in this trial receives the experimental treatment. There is no placebo group.

**Visits** _(From the protocol)_: You will complete 4 study visits over approximately 18 weeks.
  > "Participants will take part in this research study for approximately 18 weeks in total. During this time, participants will complete 4 study visits at designated research centers at Boston University, Washington University in St. Louis, or the University of Utah, depending on the site of enrollment."

**Procedures** _(From the protocol)_:
- Wearable / at-home monitoring (Non-invasive)
  > "To examine the effects of the intervention, the investigators will use clinical measures of motor and gait function, and quantified movement data on walking using wearable sensors."

**Washout** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator whether you would need to stop or pause any of your current medications before or during the study (a washout period), and for how long.

**Travel & reimbursement** _(Ask the coordinator)_: Ask the coordinator whether travel, parking, or your time is reimbursed or compensated, and what is covered.

_Fields marked “From the protocol” come from the trial's registry record or quoted protocol text. Fields marked “Ask the coordinator” are not reliably available and should be confirmed directly._

## Eligibility at a Glance

Key requirements found in this trial's official criteria, in plain language. Only what the listing states is shown; the study team makes the final call.

- **Disease stage:** Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 5
- **Medication dose:** Must be on a stable dose of Parkinson's medication (criteria text: "* Have stable PD medications for at least two weeks prior to enrollment")
- **Thinking test (MoCA):** MoCA memory and thinking score of at least 21 (criteria text: "* Cognitive impairment (i.e., Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA \< 21)")

## Do I Likely Qualify? — Self-Check Dimensions

The trial page offers an interactive self-check built from this trial's parsed criteria. It covers these dimensions; anything the criteria don't state clearly is answered "ask the study coordinator", never assumed.

- This trial enrolls people aged 40 or older.
- This trial requires Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 5.
- This trial requires a MoCA thinking-test score of at least 21.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* Self-report of diagnosis of typical Parkinson disease determined by a medical doctor

  -≥ 40 years of age
* Community-dwelling (e.g. home, independent living, senior housing)
* Have stable PD medications for at least two weeks prior to enrollment
* Modified Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3 per physical exam by a licensed physical therapist
* Able to walk independently without physical assistance for at least 10 minutes (assistive devices allowed with reciprocal gait pattern)
* Willing and able to provide informed consent
* Provide HIPAA Authorization to allow communication with the primary healthcare provider for communication (as needed) during the study period

Exclusion Criteria:

* \< 40 years of age
* Diagnosis of atypical Parkinsonism
* Modified Hoehn and Yahr stages 4-5
* Significantly disturbing freezing episodes during daily walking based on the New Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (Part III Item 7)
* Fall frequencies \>1x/week on average, over the past month.
* Currently participating in physical therapy for Parkinson gait rehabilitation
* Currently performing walking exercise at moderate intensities or higher for at least 30 min. per session ≥ 3x/week
* Self-reported cardiac problems that interfere with the ability to safely exercise (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmias, chest pain;
* Orthopedic problems in the lower extremities or spine that may limit walking distance (e.g., severe arthritis, spinal stenosis, or significant pain)
* Any other medical conditions that would preclude successful participation as determined by the researcher/ physical therapist
* Cognitive impairment (i.e., Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA \< 21)
* Unable to walk independently (i.e., without physical assistance) at a comfortable speed ≥ 0.4m/s as measured using the 10-meter Walk Test (10mWT) as examined in Baseline #1
* Resting tachycardia (\> 100 beats/min) or uncontrolled blood pressure (resting systolic BP \> 160 mmHg or diastolic BP \>100 mmHg)) as measured by the researcher/ physical therapist
* Unable to independently use the music-based digital therapeutic during training
* Significant hearing impairment
```

## Locations (3)

- Boston University Center for Neurorehabilitation, Boston, Massachusetts, United States _(42.3584, -71.0598)_
  - Erica Clarke, BS, (CONTACT), 617-358-6157, egclarke@bu.edu
  - Terry D. Ellis, PhD, PT, (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)
- Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri, United States _(38.6273, -90.1979)_
  - Kayla Bell, PT, DPT, (CONTACT), 314-273-6016, kayla.bell@wustl.edu
  - Kerri Rawson, PhD, MS, (CONTACT), 813-468-8900, rawson@wustl.edu
  - Gammon Earhart, PT, PhD, (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)
- University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States _(40.7608, -111.8911)_
  - Rheanna Anderson, MS, (CONTACT), 801-587-3615, rheanna.anderson@utah.edu
  - Lee Dibble, PT, PhD, (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Erica Clarke, BS, (CONTACT), 617-358-6157, egclarke@bu.edu
- Franchino Porciuncula, EdD PT DScPT, (CONTACT), 617-353-7571, fporciun@bu.edu

## Making Contact: How to Call This Study Site

### Who to ask for

Ask for the study coordinator. Some sites call this person the research coordinator. They are the right person for questions about joining a study. If you reach a front desk or a doctor's office scheduler, ask them to connect you with the research team for this study.

### What to say

It is fine to read this out loud, word for word:

> Hello, my name is ____. I am calling about a Parkinson's study at your site. The study number is NCT07705373. It is the one about "Can personalized music improve walking". Could I speak with the study coordinator about taking part?

If you are calling for a family member, use their name and mention that you help with their care.

### What they will ask you

- The year of diagnosis
- Current medications and their doses
- Other health conditions
- Any procedures already done, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS)
- How far you are able to travel for study visits
- Whether a care partner can come to visits with you

### What to have ready

- A written list of current medications and doses
- Your neurologist's name and phone number
- The diagnosis date. The year is enough.
- A recent visit summary from the neurologist, if you have one

### What to ask them

- How many visits are there, and how long does each visit take?
  The listing already answers this: You will complete 4 study visits over approximately 18 weeks. Ask the coordinator to confirm it still applies.
- Is travel, parking, or my time reimbursed?
- Is there a placebo group, and what is my chance of being in it?
  The listing already answers this: Everyone in this trial receives the experimental treatment. There is no placebo group. Ask the coordinator to confirm it still applies.
- Would I need to stop or pause any of my current medications?
- What happens when the study ends? Could I stay on the treatment if it helps?

### What to expect

- Expect to wait a few days for a callback. A week is common. Calling or emailing again after that is fine and normal.
- Many callers do not end up joining. Screening out is common and is not a judgment about you or your health.
- Asking questions commits you to nothing. You can stop the process at any point.

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07705373*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07705373*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07705373*