Parkinson’s disease is the second leading neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Now, researchers at The Technical Research Centre for Dependency, Care and Autonomous Living (CETpD) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC) have designed a new wearable system that will automatically regulate the delivery of medication to Parkinson’s patients based on their status and improve their quality of life.

In addition, the innovative device will determine what phase a patient is in while performing everyday activities and alert them to initiative movement when a gait-freezing episode occurs. The project, Personal Health Device for the Remote and Autonomous Management of Parkinson’s Disease (REMPARK), is conducted by the CETpD.

The goal of the project is to identify the situations that are most incapacitating for Parkinson’s patients in their daily lives, and intervene (under medical supervision) in the most effective and least invasive way.

Participants in the project include the UPC, the European Parkinson’s disease Association, Teknon Medical Center, Telefónica R&D, and several research centers and companies based in Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, and Israel. The project is currently recruiting volunteers in Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Israel. The novel device will tested on Parkinson’s patients at home instead of in the laboratory.

The device is made up of two different elements: an inertial system (the size of a mobile phone) which is worn at the waist on a belt made of biocompatible material, and a sensor bracelet that measures tremor in patients. The inertial system also contains sensors and is able to process and wirelessly transmit the data collected.

The device is designed to detect symptomatic parameters of Parkinson’s disease and determine what phase the patient is in (on-off phenomena, freezing and other disorders linked with Parkinson’s).

On-off phenomena are fluctuations in a patient’s motor status over the day. Patients fluctuate between periods with no symptoms (“on” phases, when they are under the effect of medication) and periods when symptoms – difficulty walking, slowness of movement and even freezing of gait – reappear (“off” phases, which generally occur when the patient is receiving little or no medication). Freezing occurs when a patient becomes completely immobile when starting to walk.

The innovative system also contains a actuation subsystem which consists of auditory, visual, or touch-related cueing devices. In addition, the device contains a pump for regulated subcutaneous drug delivery, a functional electrical stimulation (FES) system, and a mobile phone, which links the systems to the data server, and provides an interface for medical supervision.

The system will also include a central server to store all the patients data. This server will process and analyze the patients data in order to determine how they are progressing.

According to the researchers the device will reduce the number of hospitalizations, improve disease management, improve treatment and rehabilitation of patients, and improve the European health system by providing more personalized and better quality care for individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

Written by Grace Rattue