Inertial wearables as pragmatic tools in dementia.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Digital Health

Background:

• Dementia presents significant personal, societal, and healthcare burdens.
• Current dementia diagnostic and monitoring protocols have limitations.
• Integrating digital biomarkers into clinical practice is increasingly advocated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the utility of wearable technology in capturing digital markers for dementia research.
• To explore the role of inertial sensor-based wearables in quantifying movement for neurological assessment.
• To discuss the integration, standardization, and regulatory aspects of wearables in clinical trials.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of existing literature on wearable technology and dementia research.
• Focus on inertial sensor-based wearables for assessing postural control and gait.
• Examination of data analytics advancements enabling wearable utility.

Main Results:

• Wearables provide continuous, discrete data on habitual activities, including gait and postural control.
• Advances in data analytics enhance the potential of wearables for neurological disorder diagnosis and treatment.
• Wearables offer a low-cost method for quantifying fundamental movements relevant to daily living.

Conclusions:

• Wearable technology shows promise for generating digital markers to advance dementia research.
• The integration of wearables into routine clinical practice and trials is progressing, supported by standardization and regulatory efforts.
• Inertial sensor-based wearables are valuable tools for objective assessment of movement in neurological conditions.