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Published on: August 8, 2019
Estimating dyskinesia severity in Parkinson's disease by using a waist-worn sensor: concurrent validity study
Alejandro Rodríguez-Molinero1,2, Carlos Pérez-López3,4, Albert Samà3,4
1Consorci Sanitari de l'Alt Penedès i Garraf, Vilafranca del Pendès, Spain. rodriguez.molinero@gmail.com.
Scientific Reports
|September 19, 2019
Summary
A new waist-worn device accurately measures Parkinson's disease dyskinesia severity. The sensor shows good correlation with physician assessments, offering a promising tool for objective monitoring of movement disorders.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neurology
- Wearable Technology
Background:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder often accompanied by dyskinesia, involuntary movements that can significantly impact quality of life.
- Objective and reliable methods for quantifying dyskinesia severity during daily activities are crucial for effective patient management and treatment evaluation.
- Previous research developed an accelerometry-based wearable device for detecting dyskinesia in PD patients during everyday tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the correlation between the quantitative output of a novel accelerometry-based wearable device and physician-assessed dyskinesia severity.
- To validate the device's ability to objectively measure the magnitude of dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients.
Main Methods:
- Thirteen Parkinson's disease patients with symptomatic dyskinesias were monitored at home using the waist-worn accelerometry device for approximately 30 minutes.
- Simultaneous video recordings captured patients' daily activities, allowing for physician-based assessment of dyskinesia severity using the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS).
- Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between the device's averaged output and the UDysRS scores.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation (r=0.70, p=0.01) was found between the device's output and the overall UDysRS scores.
- The correlation was particularly strong (r=0.91, p<0.001) when analyzing the device's output against the trunk and leg sub-items of the UDysRS, reflecting the sensor's placement.
- The device provided a single, averaged value representing dyskinesia severity for each patient.
Conclusions:
- The accelerometry-based wearable device demonstrates a good correlation with physician-based clinical assessments of dyskinesia severity in Parkinson's disease.
- This device shows potential as an objective tool for monitoring dyskinesia in real-world settings, aiding in treatment adjustments and disease management.
- The findings support the utility of wearable sensor technology for quantifying motor symptoms in neurological disorders.
