Now there is an experimental "app" for diagnosing the neurological condition that affects about 127,000 people in the UK.
The system involves sensing almost imperceptible effects on the voice, walking behaviour and manual dexterity that may provide an early indication of Parkinson's.
Scientists are testing the app in a large group of 2,500 people with diagnosed Parkinson's, symptoms or genes known to be linked to the disease, and healthy individuals.
An earlier analysis of thousands of voice recordings suggested that effects such as increased breathiness, drifting pitch, and altered vowel sounds can detect Parkinson's with 99% accuracy.
Similarly, checking a person's gait with a smartphone's accelerometer - the in-built motion sensor that tells the device what way up it is - identified people with Parkinson's in 98% of cases.
Smartphone information could also be used to assess symptom levels and progression in those being treated for the disease, say the scientists.
Mathematician Dr Max Little, from the University of Aston, who is leading the research, said: "Not only can you predict whether someone has Parkinson's disease or not, you can actually score their symptoms on clinical scales.
"This new kind of remote data analysis will help patients to monitor their conditions on a minute-by-minute basis from the comfort of their own homes.
"Of course, it is still important that they receive regular advice and treatment from medical professionals, who may also benefit from this new technology.
"Physicians may be able to use data collected by their patients' smartphones to prescribe medications .. This information may also help examine people thought susceptible to developing Parkinson's disease. The condition is hard to diagnose, with specialists having to take a detailed history of people's symptoms and analysing them for physical signs of the disease.
Original post:
Smart phones to be used as pocket doctors to spot early signs of Parkinson's disease