The Hague company Cue2Walk International has developed a device for people with Parkinson's who suffer from gait disturbances. They contribute to the action program Technology for Home of the municipality of The Hague.

Floor Waardenburg (Managing Director) is one of the three entrepreneurs behind Cue2Walk. Sander Minnoye (Technical Director) and Martijn van der Ent (Medical Director) founded the company in 2017 and are the substantive forces behind the product. The three driven directors have been working together since 2020. Floor brings knowledge and experience as a movement scientist and entrepreneur in the events industry.

Floor says: “Sander and Martijn had a product that worked at the time, but as a company they still had to take some steps. Make plans, attract investors and grow the company. Since their interest and expertise is more in the content of the product, and not so much in growing the company, they got in touch with me. I saw a nice challenge in this.”

Cueing against freezing of gait

The idea behind Cue2Walk originally arose between therapists and patients at Basalt rehabilitation in The Hague. There they saw that cueing helps people with Parkinson's who suffer from gait disturbances. Floor explains: "In people with Parkinson's, specific parts of the brain no longer function properly. They develop all kinds of motor and mental symptoms. Over 60% also develops freezing of gait: the sudden loss of the ability to control the muscles in the legs. This often causes people to fall, resulting in trauma. They also lose self-confidence, become increasingly dependent and develop an inactive lifestyle. And that is a problem, because staying active can slow down the symptoms of the disease."

Freezing occurs mainly in the control of automated movements, such as walking. Cueing offers a solution here. Floor: “Cueing is a simple trick to ensure that an unconscious movement, such as walking to the door, becomes a conscious movement by offering a rhythmic signal. People are then no longer busy with walking, but with taking a step to the rhythm of a beep. Cueing works very well in practice, but it is difficult for people to apply this independently at home”.

Smart technology and therapy

Cue2Walk International has developed a device for this: a sensor that you wear around your leg. This sensor can recognize movements and then automatically activates a rhythmic signal. In combination with therapy, patients are taught to convert the rhythm into conscious movements.

Floor: “The automatic recognition appeals to the imagination and is powerful. At the same time, we know from practice that people need to use the device proactively. And that is why the combination with therapy is important. By teaching people to recognize in which situations freezing often occurs and to activate the device proactively, they can actually prevent freezing. In this way, they maintain control over their movements. That gives people more self-control and grip on the symptom, more self-confidence to remain too active and less risk of falling incidents.”

Support from the municipality

The company received funding from InnovationQuarter, which is co-financed by the municipality of The Hague. The Cue2Walk International branch in The Hague was once started out of convenience: the founders all live in the area. But now it is a conscious choice to stay in The Hague.

Floor says: “We notice that there is a lot of support in The Hague. The municipality of The Hague has been making a big change in the direction of healthcare technology in recent years. I notice an enormous drive among various people who are working on this and that is very nice to see. I would therefore definitely recommend other companies in our sector to establish themselves in The Hague”.

Technological innovation

The company is currently in a number of accelerator programs and has a partnership with the municipality. For example, they work together with the action program Technology for Home and they are part of the Fall Prevention program.

“Elderly people in particular have a high risk of falling and that entails a lot of costs. The government has set up a program for this in which municipalities participate, so that the risk of falling is reduced. The municipality of The Hague has a strong vision in this and wants technological innovation to be part of it. We are one of the companies in The Hague that is working on the program participate in a pilot. Together with the municipality, we are going to look for people who suffer from frostbite to show that we actually reduce the risk of falling. It is something nice that we can give back to people from The Hague and it may ensure that people in other municipalities can also benefit from this in the future," says Floor.

Improved quality of life

Finally, what is Floor most proud of? “That we, as a team, have developed a product with a lot of energy and passion that actually makes people’s lives a little more bearable. For people who suffer from this symptom, it is extremely annoying and often also disabling. It is really a loss of quality of life, often also for the partner and family. That we can offer relief with this product, together with all our partners, is very nice to see.”

Technology for Home

The Hague is the city of care and innovation. Since 2016, the municipality of The Hague has been investing in making care future-proof. Together with residents, care providers, entrepreneurs and educational institutions, we ensure the right care technology that helps residents of The Hague to continue living independently at home for longer and more pleasantly. Read more about the municipality's approach and plans on the website technologievoorthuis.nl.