Remote reliable measurements of movement using bluetooth enabled engineered keyboard for diagnosis of neurological diseases - Renewal

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder, with a complex diagnosis criteria. Up to 50% of people with Parkinson’s disease (PWP) do not have access to a movement disorders neurologist. Telemedicine has dramatically increased the penetrance of care to PWP, but assessment of all aspects of motor disability in PD are impossible via telemedicine. The assessment of rigidity has posed the greatest challenge to telemedicine and clinical trials. Rigidity is assessed as increased resistance to passive range of movement of the limbs about the joints and cannot be determined over video. It therefore cannot be assessed using telemedicine and must be dropped from the outcomes of clinical trials. No device to date including approved wearables such as the PKG system and Apple watch can measure rigidity.

We have developed a solution that we believe will transform the clinical care of PWP, and of other neurological disorders. We initially introduced the technology of Quantitative DigitoGraphy (QDG) using a repetitive alternating finger tapping (RAFT) task on a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) keyboard and will use Neuroscience: Translate funding for the next stage of device development.