Gait assessment in Parkinson's disease patients through a network of wearable accelerometers in unsupervised environments

J. Cancela, M. Pastorino, M. T. Arredondo, M. Pansera, L. Pastor-Sanz, F. Villagra, M. A. Pastor, A. P. Gonzalez

    38 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Parkinson's disease (PD) predominantly alters the motor performance of the affected individuals. In particular, the loss of dopaminergic neurons compromises the speed, the automaticity and fluidity of movements. As the disease evolves, PD patient's motion becomes slower and tremoric and the response to medication fluctuates along the day. In addition, the presence of involuntary movements deteriorates voluntary movement in advanced state of the disease. These changes in the motion can be detected by studying the variation of the signals recorded by accelerometers attached in the limbs and belt of the patients. The analysis of the most significant changes in these signals make possible to build an individualized motor profile of the disease, allowing doctors to personalize the medication intakes and consequently improving the response of the patient to the treatment. Several works have been done in a laboratory and supervised environments providing solid results; this work focused on the design of unsupervised method for the assessment of gait in PD patients. The development of a reliable quantitative tool for long-term monitoring of PD symptoms would allow the accurate detection of the clinical status during the different PD stages and the evaluation of motor complications. Besides, it would be very useful both for routine clinical care as well as for novel therapies testing.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publication33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS 2011
    Number of pages4
    Publication date26 Dec 2011
    Pages2233-2236
    Article number6090423
    ISBN (Print)9781424441211
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 26 Dec 2011
    Event33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS 2011 - Boston, MA, United States
    Duration: 30 Aug 20113 Sept 2011

    Conference

    Conference33rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS 2011
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityBoston, MA
    Period30/08/201103/09/2011
    SeriesProceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
    ISSN1557-170X

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