The number of people with Parkinson’s disease has doubled in the last 25 years, but treatment and monitoring methods are outdated. Stanford Medicine researchers from Stafford University have created a simple, portable device called the KeyDuo to help patients track their symptoms from home. Doctors rely on outdated scales to assess the disease, and many patients face long waits for clinic visits due to a shortage of specialists.
Patients with Parkinson’s often don’t know how fast their disease is worsening or if their medications are working. To help, Stanford Medicine researchers created a small device called KeyDuo that connects to a smartphone. It lets patients measure their symptoms at home by analyzing finger movements.
Doctors can then use this data to adjust treatments remotely. Research led by Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart is funded to improve this technology.
Currently, Parkinson’s disease is monitored through in-person exams using a rating scale that can be subjective. Doctors check symptoms like tremors and slow movements, but getting detailed, accurate data is challenging.
Only 40% of patients see a neurologist and many wait months between visits. A shortage of trained specialists makes it hard for patients to get care. Better tools, like those used for diabetes, are needed to track Parkinson’s more precisely.
Getting care for Parkinson’s is challenging, and patients often have to manage their medications on their own. The idea for a device to measure symptoms came from a clinic treating musicians with dystonia, where a pianist with Parkinson’s tried a computerized keyboard.
The device could detect differences in symptoms based on how hard and fast he pressed the keys. This led to the creation of a device that remotely measures joint stiffness and symptoms.
Patients can use the device at home or anywhere they go. It’s small, fits in hand, and connects to a mobile app, sending results to doctors in real time. Recent research showed that, after tracking eight patients for 30 days, the device helped monitor how symptoms changed with medication.
A later study found that the device could also detect tremors with 98% accuracy, which is difficult to do even in clinics.
This device can help standardize results and improve care by providing objective, reliable data, unlike traditional rating scales. It allows doctors to manage patients remotely between rare in-person visits and track motor symptoms over time.
Like glucose monitors for diabetes, it can help patients adjust medications and give doctors valuable insights. It could also speed up drug research by collecting better data with fewer patient visits.
Journal reference:
- Hoffman, S.L., Schmiedmayer, P., Gala, A.S. et al.Comprehensive real time remote monitoring for Parkinson’s disease using Quantitative DigitoGraphy. npj Parkinson’s Disease. DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00751-w.
- Gala, A.S., Wilkins, K.B., Petrucci, M.N. et al. The digital signature of emergent tremor in Parkinson’s disease. npj Parkinsons Disease. DOI: 10.1038/s41531-024-00754-7
