Objective Measurement of Walking Activity Using Wearable Technologies in People with Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease with a multitude of disease variations including motor and non-motor symptoms. Quality of life and symptom management may be improved with physical activity. Due to technological advancement, development of small new wearable devices recently emerged and allowed objective measurement of walking activity in daily life. This review was specifically designed to synthesize literature on objective walking activity measurements using wearable devices of patients with PD. Inclusion criteria included patients with a diagnosis of PD and exclusion criteria included studies using animal models or mixed syndromes. Participants were not required to undergo any type of intervention and the studies must have reported at least one output that quantifies daily walking activity. Three databases were systematically searched with no limitation on publication date. Twenty-six studies were eligible and included in the systematic review. The most frequently used device was the ActiGraph GT3X which was used in 10 studies. Duration of monitoring presented a range from 8 h to one year. Nevertheless, 11 studies measured walking activity during a 7-day period. On-body sensor wearing location differed throughout the included studies showing eight positions, with the waist, ankle, and wrist being the most frequently used locations. The main procedures consisted of measurement of walking hours during a 2-day period or more, equipped with a triaxial accelerometer at the dominant hip or ankle. It is also important for further research to take care of different factors such as the population, their pathology, the period, and the environment.

Remote at-home wearable-based gait assessments in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy compared to Parkinson’s Disease

“…Digital health technologies have the potential to provide objective, quantitative digital biomarkers of disease remotely in participants’ homes (reviewed in [ 1 ]). While remote in-home wearable sensors have been successfully used to measure PD tremor and motor activity [ 2 – 4 ], such technology has not yet been tested in people with PSP. Remote assessment of disease severity and progression provides several advantages over laboratory or in-clinic evaluations: 1) it allows more frequent, even continuous measurement of the disease; 2) it captures movement in the natural living environment; 3) it significantly reduces the burden of travel for patients with disabilities and for patients who live far from clinical centers [ 5 ].…”