quotable quotes
Six sensors per subject were placed on the chest and base of the spine, one on each wrist and foot, and tracked 122 physiological indicators. Dozens of indicators stood out as closely indicating the progression of the disease, including the direction in which the toes move during walking and the length and regularity of stride length.
“We now have a biomarker,” said Cristalina Antoniades, a neuroscientist at the University of Oxford and principal investigator on the paper published earlier this month in the journal NPJ Parkinson’s Disease. Ta. “It’s very exciting. Now we hope to be able to tell you, ‘Do drugs work?’ ”
Until now, drug trials for Parkinson’s disease have relied on clinical evaluation of whether treatments slow the progression of the disease, Dr. Antoniades said. But clinical observation can miss changes that occur day-to-day or that aren’t obvious during regular doctor visits, he added.
In their paper, the study authors concluded that the sensor proved more effective at tracking disease progression “than traditionally used clinical assessment measures.”
what is it like
To capture the wearer’s various movements, the sensors employ technologies such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, which are increasingly common in digital watches and smartphones. Together, these devices can measure a person’s direction, gait, regularity of movement, and more.
After the results were published, Dr. Antoniades and his team were inundated with messages from colleagues and the media asking if they had found a cure for Parkinson’s disease. He said he wanted to be clear that while this advance is an important step that could speed up the development of treatments for the disease, it is not the solution to the problem.
what’s next
Dr. Antoniades is optimistic about the possibility of using such sensors to track other diseases, perhaps Alzheimer’s disease, “a number of diseases that combine bioengineering, clinical science, and exercise science.” Told.
Human doctors will continue to be an important part of the process, and sensors will complement clinician observations, she added. “We hope that this will increase doctors’ ability to provide appropriate treatment,” Dr. Antoniades said.
