Smart watches can help detect Parkinson’s disease early: Study

A recent study suggests that mainstream consumer-grade gadgets — specifically, older Apple Watches and iPhones — could help doctors spot early signs of Parkinson's disease, speeding up treatment options for the neurodegenerative disease. 10 million people around the world.

A team of researchers from Rochester Medical Center conducted a 12-month study of 82 individuals with early-stage, untreated Parkinson's disease to better equip healthcare providers to identify and diagnose the disease as early as possible. 50 other age-matched individuals as a control group.

The results of the research were published last week npj Parkinson's diseasean open access, peer-reviewed journal affiliated with Nature. It was an improvement on results reported last year.

The research shows that the group wants to use “accessible technology” and they are sitting on the Apple Watch 4 or 5. And iPhone 10 or 11. The survey was conducted between June 2019 and December 2020 and included older models of Apple hardware than the best online versions available at the time.

The smartwatches were used to collect health and fitness data. BrainBaseline App installed on iPhone. At the same time, the participants wore clothes that were worn during the research phase “Opal” sensors It is attached to the chest, lower back and shoes.

The “off-the-shelf” wearables and purpose-built Parkinson's disease app measure many things, including walking speed, step distance, arm swing, speech patterns, finger tapping and other inputs.

“We found a number of important digital metrics derived from commercial smartwatches and smartphones,” the study noted. “The response of these parameters to drugs remains to be established. However, this study [brings] We propose to find meaningful digital measures for future use in Parkinson's disease clinical trials.

Key study findings show that walking problems worsen over a year in people with early Parkinson's disease. Other measured movements—such as arm swing, walking speed, and step length—were also reduced for the Parkinson's disease group.

These changes were measured daily by each participant in real-world settings using wearables and showed more pronounced differences than traditional medical tests, the study says.

Study participants in the Parkinson's group later showed more hand tremors detected by the devices and the app, indicating that after one year they experienced tremors more frequently on a daily basis. According to the published paper, this change is more pronounced than doctors usually measure.

Although there are some challenges related to technology and time constraints related to Covid, the researchers concluded that their origins are valid and further research is warranted.

Since the study was conducted, consumer wearable and fitness technology has also advanced, with smartwatches and smart rings adding many new sensors and collecting more metrics.

The study was conducted Dr. Jamie AdamsAssociate Professor in the Department of Neurology and Movement Disorders at the University of Rochester.

“These findings reinforce what other studies have shown,” Adams said in 2023. “Digital tools can differentiate between people with and without early Parkinson's and are more sensitive to some measures of Parkinson's disease than traditional grading measures.

According to the Parkinson's Foundation, Approximately 90,000 Americans Every year, they are diagnosed with a neurological disorder, which affects physical activity and is the second most common neurological disease behind Alzheimer's. Although Parkinson's currently has no cure, it The symptoms can be mild and simple to investigate.

Adams did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.