Victorian Invention A Watchful Approach To Parkinson's

Main Category: Parkinson's Disease
Article Date: 21 May 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Victorian researchers have developed a wristwatch that continuously monitors the health status of people with Parkinson's disease to help doctors manage their treatment, Victorian Minister for Innovation Gavin Jennings said today.

The wristwatch, which is still at the prototype stage, was introduced onto the world market by Mr Jennings at BIO2009 in Atlanta, USA.

It is designed to assist doctors treating people with Parkinson's disease by recording their symptoms throughout the day and in the longer term will assist researchers in the development of new drugs for the disease.

"The Brumby Government is taking action to promote innovative projects in Victoria and this is an excellent example of how Victorian scientists are moving from basic research into developing products that will clearly benefit patients and their families," Mr Jennings said.

"The right dosage and correct timing of dosing has an enormous impact on the wellbeing of a person with Parkinson's disease. Currently neurologists can only check dosage and timing by observing the patient during consultations, which may be at 6-8 week intervals.

"What this clever device does is provide the physician with an objective measurement of how a patient's symptoms have changed over time. It is the first of its kind and will provide physicians with information about the effectiveness of medications and guide them in adjusting the timing of medications."

The wristwatch (patent pending) has been developed by a team led by Professor Mal Horne and Dr Rob Griffiths at the Florey Neuroscience Institutes in Melbourne. Mr Jennings said the device would assist in the development of drugs for Parkinson's disease which was hampered by an inability to accurately assess whether the treatment is effective.

The next stage of development for the wristwatch is being funded by Melbourne's Medical Research Commercialisation Fund. The MRCF is a collaborative venture fund established with support from the Victorian and NSW Governments.

Dr Chris Nave, Principal Executive of the MRCF, said the fund had invested an initial $490,000 in Global Kinetics Corporation, a spinout company from the Melbourne-based Florey Neuroscience Institutes to enable researchers to further refine the watch and complete pivotal clinical trials.

"We are very pleased to be involved in taking this simple, yet effective, device to its next stage," said Mr Nave.

Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the brain that often affects body movements and speech. About 80,000 people are living with Parkinson's in Australia with one in five people with Parkinson's diagnosed before the age of 50. In the USA, the disease affects up to two percent of the population and is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder.

Source
The Premier of Victoria. Australia