Can multiple wearable sensors be used to detect the early onset of Parkinson's Disease?

Abstract

The symptoms of (PD) often begins on one side of the body before separating bilaterally. Early symptoms of PD are rest tremors, bradykinesia and rigidity. Common signs are a decrease in arm swing, shuffling foot movement and slowness arising from a chair. Rigidity of muscles commonly affects a patient limbs, neck and shoulder PD is currently diagnosed after the neuro degenerative process has started. To optimize and improve PD quality of care, it should be diagnosed early in its onset once symptoms are not yet evident. The current gold standard for patient assessment of PD is the completion of symptom diaries. These diaries are subjective and usually do not accurately reflect what is taking place throughout the day. It is exceedingly difficult for an untrained observer such as family members to provide accurate description of movement characteristic in PD. An alternative way to exercise the abnormal movement in PD is to use a wearable technology system which could aid early detection of the disease and help clinicians manage medication when symptoms fluctuate throughout the day. This paper will evaluate the effectiveness of a wearable multi-sensor kinematic system capable of detecting the tell-tale signs of PD when performing tailored exercise routines. Each exercise routine will examine movement for potential PD symptoms and report finding for deeper clinician analysis.