Wearable devices to support Parkinson's disease research

The Michael J Fox was created in 2000, after the actor was diagnosed with Parkinson's

The devices collect more than 300 observations per second from each patient on measurable features of Parkinson's, including slowness of movement, tremor and sleep quality.

This data can be transmitted to the researchers' computers over the internet in real time 24 hours a day, seven days a week helping them to detect patterns and make new discoveries.

"Data science and wearable computing hold the potential to transform our ability to capture and objectively measure patients' actual experience of disease, with unprecedented implications for Parkinson's drug development, diagnosis and treatment," said Todd Sherer, chief executive of The Michael J Fox Foundation.

The partnership follows a trial of the technology earlier this year. Sixteen Parkinson's patients and nine control volunteers wore the devices during two clinic visits and at home continuously over four days.

"I know that many doctors tell their patients to keep a log to track their Parkinson's," Bret Parker, 46, of New York, who is living with Parkinson's and participated in the study.

"I am not a compliant patient on that front. I pay attention to my Parkinson's, but it's not everything I am all the time. The wearables did that monitoring for me in a way I didn't even notice, and the study allowed me to take an active role in the process for developing a cure."

Intel data scientists are now correlating the data collected to clinical observations and patient diaries to gauge the devices' accuracy, and are developing algorithms to measure symptoms and disease progression.

Later this year, Intel and The Michael J Fox Foundation plan to launch a new mobile application that enables patients to report their medication intake as well as how they are feeling.

"Emerging technologies can not only create a new paradigm for measurement of Parkinson's, but as more data is made available to the medical community, it may also point to currently unidentified features of the disease that could lead to new areas of research," said Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Data Center Group.

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Wearable devices to support Parkinson's disease research