Development of a Wearable Wireless Sensing Device for Characterization of Hand Tremors Through Vibration Frequency Analysis

Abstract

PurposeTo monitor the progression of diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) or essential tremor (ET), there is a growing interest in understanding their side effects and continuously monitoring the deterioration or progress of patients’ health conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of a wearable monitoring device constructed from compact MEMS for robust tremor detection in the upper limb using three different storage and monitoring techniques.MethodFour subjects (2 PD and 2 ET) with varying stages of disease and treatment willingly provided offline, online, and live modes of tremor data using a low-cost, miniaturized accelerometer and microelectromechanical device.ResultsThe results demonstrated differences in voluntary and non-voluntary characteristics of various activities and the distinct separation between them in the vibration spectrum at the limit of 2 Hz. Online and live monitoring provided the best alternatives to continuous in-home tracking combined with extensive post-processing techniques to detect tremor segments. The findings also highlighted the emergence of noticeable peaks, in the range between 3 and 8 Hz, for the PD’s frequency response, compared to the ET case, where the broadband behavior dominates.ConclusionThe possibility of using a dynamic tuned mass damper tuned with dominant peaks to be canceled opens opportunities for PD passive tremor suppression.