March 3, 2026Open Access

The Role of a Pediatric Belt Cane in Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment

Key Points

Gait speed improved by 66.0% at follow-up, indicating effective support from the pediatric belt cane.
At the same time, step length and foot-mobility increased by 49.8% and 55.8%, respectively, reinforcing the findings.
Analysis utilized smartphone videos processed through MediaPipe Pose to monitor gait metrics over an 8-week period.
Calls for larger controlled studies to assess the broader clinical implications for children with CVI.

Abstract

Paul Chong,1 Andrew D Brown,1 Robert W Enzenauer,2 Grace Ambrose-Zaken3 1Department of Ophthalmology, Walter Reed National Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA; 2Department of Ophthalmology and Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA; 3Department of Research, Safe Toddles, Fishkill, NY, USACorrespondence: Grace Ambrose-Zaken, Department of Research, Safe Toddles, 1491 Route 52, Suite 44, Fishkill, NY, 12524, Tel +1 914 204 9292, Email gambrose@hunter.cuny.eduObjective: Because children with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) may have difficulty using visual preview to guide safe navigation, including hazard detection, obstacle negotiation, and foot placement resulting in more cautious gait patterns, we evaluated whether wearing a Pediatric Belt Cane is associated with improved gait speed in children with CVI, with step length and a foot-mobility metric analyzed as exploratory outcomes.Methods: In this pre-post observational pilot, we analyzed smartphone videos from 11 children with clinicial diagnosed CVI at baseline and 8-week follow-up while wearing a Pediatric Belt Cane. Representative walking segments were processed using MediaPipe Pose to track bilateral feet and derive gait speed, step length, and foot-mobility. Outcomes were averaged across left/right per child and compared between baseline and follow-up using paired tests.Results: At follow-up, gait speed was higher than at baseline; step length and foot-mobility showed similar improvements. Child-level mean changes were: gait speed +66.0% (p< 0.001), step length +49.8% (p< 0.001), and foot-mobility +55.8% (p< 0.001).Conclusion: In this pilot pre-post cohort, pediatric belt cane use was associated with improved gait speed, with supportive improvements in step length and foot-mobility. Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm generalizability and clinical impact.Keywords: orientation and mobility, developmental motor outcomes, blindness, low vision, mobility rehabilitation, assistive technology

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