Medicine in novel technology and devices quantitative study and evaluation of ankle joint motor-cognitive dual-task post-stroke using eye-tracking technology

Dual-task ability is crucial for daily life, but sensory, cognitive, and motor impairments often reduce performance in patients, significantly impacting their quality of life. To evaluate and restore this ability, this study proposes an eye-tracking-based dual-task training system for ankle movement and cognition. The system is designed to capture and analyze real-time ankle and eye movement parameters, integrating these with traditional clinical scales to offer a multidimensional, objective, and quantitative evaluation standard. Reliability and criterion validity analyses involving 20 healthy adults and 30 stroke patients demonstrated that 88.2 ​% of the evaluation parameters exhibited high consistency, with 55.8 ​% showing a moderate correlation with clinical benchmark scales (p ​< ​0.05). Notably, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), dual-task cost percentage, and TUG-subtraction task duration were identified as key indicators of dual-task ability, while the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale showed lower sensitivity. Furthermore, foot and ankle motion parameters exhibited a strong correlation with balance and fall risk, effectively serving as predictors of motor function recovery and fall risk in stroke patients. The system provides an innovative, quantitative tool for assessing lower limb dual-task ability, facilitating the identification of dual-task performance differences among stroke patients. It supports the development of evidence-based rehabilitation strategies, with the potential to enhance long-term functional recovery and improve patients' quality of life.