Objective: To use smartwatches to identify candidates for deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Background: DBS can meaningfully lessen Parkinson’s disease (PD) motor symptoms and improve quality of life. However, identifying DBS candidates, particularly those without access to an advanced specialty center, presents ongoing challenges.

Method: We recruited adults clinically diagnosed with PD and who had primary complaints of motor fluctuations. For eight months, participants were instructed to wear a consumer smartwatch for at least four days per month. The smartwatch continuously recorded motion data from its internal accelerometers and gyroscopes, and previously validated algorithms used the motion data to detect and quantify tremor, slowness, and dyskinesia. We defined “bad time” as periods when the smartwatch detected tremor or slowness (off time) or dyskinesia. We compared bad time in participants who were and were not recommended for DBS and the periods before and after receiving DBS for the participants who received DBS during the study.

Results: Twenty-five participants were screened, two withdrew, and two were not qualified. Therefore, data was analyzed from twenty-one participants (8F, 13M, age 69±8 years, disease duration 8±4.4 years, HY 2.1±0.4). Nine received DBS implants during the study and continued recording following the surgery, including the period when the DBS was activated and programmed. Bad time occurred more often in participants who were recommended for DBS (3.97 Hours/day vs 2 hours/day, p <0.0001) compared to the ones who were not. Additionally, the system captured a significant reduction in bad time (3.97 vs 1.8 hours/day, p<0.001) after receiving DBS.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the sensors in commercial smartwatches can help identify candidates for DBS and detect improvements resulting from the therapy. This will form the foundation for developing predictive models to remotely identify appropriate candidates for DBS and expand care to patients who might not otherwise have considered DBS.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/smartwatch-based-screening-to-identify-candidates-for-deep-brain-stimulation-in-parkinsons-disease/