Digital biomarkers of mobility and quality of life in Parkinson's disease based on a wearable motion analysis LAB

Abstract

Background and objectiveFunctional mobility, an indicator of the quality of life (QoL), requires fast and flexible changes during motion, which are limited in Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent body-worn sensors have emerged in the last decades as potential solutions to produce digital biomarkers able to quantify mobility outside routine consultations and during real-life scenarios for multiple days at a time. The proposed research aims to study the ability of a wearable motion analysis lab, developed by our team, to produce digital biomarkers of mobility and QoL levels in patients with PD. MethodsA cross-sectional study was followed, including 40 patients stratified into three subgroups according to a clinic motor examination and a QoL questionnaire. ResultsThe achieved outcomes demonstrate the ability of the proposed high-tech solution to measure prototypical gait impairments and discriminate motor condition (AUC=0,890) and patients' QoL levels (AUC=0,950). Also, from the measured multiple gait-associated parameters, we identified the variables with the most potential to be applied as digital biomarkers of mobility (67 % of the metrics) and QoL (72 % of the metrics) in PD. ConclusionsOverall, we confirmed our hypothesis of using our body-worn sensor-based solution for passive or active monitoring of mobility and QoL in PD to produce objective, feasible, and continuous digital biomarkers.