Based on the speed of movements, a connected watch was able to predict Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years before the appearance of the main symptoms, reports a large British study.
I’Artificial intelligence in the service of health? A connected smartwatch would be able to detect Parkinson’s disease in a person 7 years before onset of first symptomsreports a large study published on July 3, 2023 in the scientific journal NatureMedicine. To predict this risk, researchers from the UK Dementia Research Institute and Cardiff University Neuroscience (Wales) collected data from nearly 104,000 people who had never been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and who carried this smart watch for 7 days between 2013 and 2016. They were able to analyze their average speed when walking or performing certain movements all day long, what they call “accelerometry“. They were then able to compare this digital biomarker with models based on genetics, lifestyle, blood tests or symptom data warning signs (including decreased walking speed or lack of fluidity of movement) of people with Parkinson’s disease. They could predict a time scale during which the patient was at risk of developing the disease. 153 people whose accelerometry suggested a risk of Parkinson’s disease were diagnosed in the years following the experience. And for 113 of them, the diagnosis was made up to 7 years later. Of course, this smartwatch is not intended to replace existing diagnostic methods, but the data from the watch could constitute a useful screening tool to aid in the early detection of the disease. “Accelerometer is a screening tool cheap to determine those at risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and identify participants in clinical trials of neuroprotective treatments” explain the authors of the study.
“The early diagnosis of Parkinson’s is currently very difficult”
As a reminder, Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorderwhich means that the motor and cognitive faculties of the patient gradually degrade. Symptoms can be both physical and psychological and include shaking or involuntary tremors, slow movements and stiff, inflexible muscles. The patient may also experience balance problems, loss of smell, memory problems or insomnia. The men aged 50 to 89 years old would be 1.4 times more likely to be diagnosed than women. Parkinson’s UK, a UK Parkinson’s disease research and support charity, believes that1 in 37 people in the UK will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in her lifetime. “Early diagnosis is currently very difficult“, recall the researchers.