Technology and Dementia Preconference.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Gerontology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA) is a dementia subtype often misdiagnosed due to atypical symptoms and low clinical awareness.
• Accelerometry-based gait analysis has shown promise in differentiating Lewy Body Disease (LBD) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD).
• Real-world walking assessment offers insights into daily functional impacts of neurodegenerative diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of accelerometry-based real-world walking assessment in individuals with PCA.
• To identify differences in real-world walking characteristics between PCA, AD, and LBD.

Main Methods:

• Fourteen participants with PCA wore accelerometers for up to seven days to collect real-world walking data.
• Validated algorithms derived walking outcomes including quality, volume, pattern, and variability.
• PCA data was compared to existing data from cohorts with AD and LBD.

Main Results:

• Real-world walking assessment was feasible for all PCA participants over the recommended duration.
• PCA participants demonstrated significantly faster walking speed, greater walking volume (minutes, steps, bouts per day) compared to the LBD group (p <0.01).
• No significant differences in walking pattern or variability were found between PCA and LBD, nor were there significant differences between PCA and AD.

Conclusions:

• Accelerometry-based real-world walking assessment is a feasible method for studying PCA.
• Preliminary findings indicate that PCA's macro walking behaviors resemble those of AD more than LBD.
• Further research will explore micro gait characteristics in PCA for enhanced diagnostic differentiation.