Objective: The objectives of this study were twofold. First, to determine the feasibility of monitoring changes in how people with Parkinson’s feel, think, and behave using computerised tasks. Second, to determine the ease of use, the acceptability, and the need for a health monitoring device based on patient feedback.

Background: Current methods for monitoring Parkinsonian symptom progression rely on "snap-shot" clinical measures approximately once every six months. Critical treatment decisions are made assuming that these measures reflect a person’s typical day-to-day functioning, yet symptoms fluctuate hourly and daily. Moreover, it is also common for patients to suffer from difficulties with cognitive and emotional functioning. Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient solution to continuously monitor physical, emotional, and cognitive symptom progression, and thus individualise cost-effective treatment and ensure patient wellbeing.

Methods: Seven people with Parkinson’s disease (6 male; aged 56-72 years; Hoehn and Yahr stage 0-2) were provided with a laptop computer and asked to carry out a battery of tests to assess cognitive, emotional, and physical functioning, including reaction times, sustained attention, and spontaneous facial expression production. Participants were instructed to complete these tests independently on a daily basis for 30 days. All participants were invited to attend a focus group to provide feedback on their experiences.

Results: All participants adhered to the study and attempted to complete the testing battery every day. Initial data analysis suggests that the tasks used may be suitable for capturing fluctuations in reaction times, as well as the ability to sustain attention. The participants identified a number of issues with monitoring symptoms including the importance of capturing the most pertinent symptoms for each individual, most of which were measured in the current study, and the availability and frequency of feedback on performance. Importantly, they did not find the measures to be obtrusive and would not be averse to monitoring techniques which are more covert.

Conclusions: People with Parkinson’s disease are receptive to technological solutions for monitoring their health and there is opportunity to develop a more effective tool for monitoring changes in Parkinsonian symptoms over time.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/a-technological-solution-for-monitoring-parkinsons-disease-a-patient-based-perspective-on-necessity-usability-and-acceptability/