Real-World Evidence for a Smartwatch-Based Parkinson's Motor Assessment App for Patients Undergoing Therapy Changes

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Digital Health

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) symptom quantification is challenging outside clinical settings.
• Traditional patient diaries suffer from subjective bias.
• Wearable sensors offer objective measurement of PD motor symptoms like tremor, dyskinesia, and bradykinesia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical utility of a prescription smartwatch-based monitoring system for Parkinson's disease.
• To assess objective motor symptom evaluation using task-based assessments via smartwatches.

Main Methods:

• Sixteen Parkinson's disease patients used a smartphone and smartwatch system for objective motor symptom assessment.
• Data was collected for one week before and four weeks after a therapy change.
• Symptom scores were synchronized with medication logs to analyze therapy effects on hourly, daily, and weekly timescales.

Main Results:

• Thirteen participants completed the study, averaging 4.9 daily assessments.
• The smartwatch system captured intraday symptom fluctuations and responses to therapy.
• Significant symptom improvements were detected in 7 participants (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• The smartwatch application successfully monitored temporal trends in Parkinson's disease symptom scores.
• Results indicate that validated smartwatch-based PD monitoring provides clinically relevant data.
• This technology may decrease the necessity for frequent in-person clinic visits for medication adjustments.