Late-life balance disorders remain a severe problem with fatal consequences. Perturbation-based balance training (PBT), a form of rehabilitation that intentionally introduces small, unpredictable disruptions to an individual's gait cycle, can improve balance. The Tethered Pelvic Assist Device (TPAD) is a cable-driven robotic trainer that applies perturbations to the user's pelvis during treadmill walking. Earlier work showcased improved gait stability and the first evidence of increased cognition acutely. The mobile Tethered Pelvic Assist Device (mTPAD), a portable version of the TPAD, applies perturbations to a pelvic belt via a posterior walker during overground gait, as opposed to treadmill walking. Forty healthy older adults were randomly assigned to a control group (CG, n = 20) without mTPAD PBT or an experimental group (EG, n = 20) with mTPAD PBT for a two-day study. Day 1 consisted of baseline anthropometrics, vitals, and functional and cognitive measurements. Day 2 consisted of training with the mTPAD and post-interventional cognitive and functional measurements. Results revealed that the EG significantly outperformed the CG in cognitive and functional tasks while showcasing increased confidence in mobility. Gait analysis demonstrated that the mTPAD PBT significantly improved mediolateral stability during lateral perturbations. To our knowledge, our study is the first randomized, large group (n = 40) clinical study exploring new mobile perturbation-based robotic gait training technology.

Hands‐on cadaveric dissection is often considered an important factor in shaping the emotional identity of medical and dental students as healthcare providers. This study explores how demographic and/or experiential factors affect the empathy of students in their pre‐clinical year(s) of medical or dental school. In the Summer of 2021 and Fall of 2021, a total of 530 students from 21 universities around the world participating in the International Collaboration and Exchange (ICE) Program, completed a validated questionnaire containing the Santa Clara Brief Compassion (SCBC) Scale and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ). Responses to the SCBC and TEQ were tested for variance and covariance against age group, sex, clinical experience, year of health professional school, format of anatomy education, hours of study on prosections and/or hours of hands‐on cadaveric dissection in their respective curricula; and whether their school provides an opportunity for reflection, information about the body donors, a memorial service, and/or addresses empathy in their curricula. Results show that having 40‐90 hours of hands‐on cadaveric dissection vs 0 hours yielded higher SCBC averages (p = 0.0206) and TEQ scores (p = 0.0031); and having 20‐40 hours of hands‐on cadaveric dissection vs 0 hours also resulted in higher TEQ scores (p = 0.0105). Comparisons of hours of study on prosections, format of anatomy education, clinical experience, and year of health professional school yielded no significant results in relation to empathy scores. Our study found that across different regions of the world, curricula emphasizing dissection are best at preparing students to become more empathetic healthcare providers. While none of the other curricular factors proved significant, this study confirms the merit of hands‐on cadaveric dissection in the emotional development of medical and dental students.