How smartwatches could spot debilitating Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear
SMARTWATCHES could spot Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear, a study shows.
AI could predict the condition seven years before it was diagnosed, after analysing how quickly people moved while wearing the devices for just a week.
The findings could help people get treatment far earlier, allowing them to slow the onset of debilitating symptoms.
Dr Cynthia Sandor, of Cardiff University, said: “Smartwatch data is easily accessible and low-cost.
“By using this type of data, we would potentially be able to identify individuals in the very early stages of Parkinson’s disease within the general population.
“With these results we could develop a valuable screening tool to aid in the early detection of Parkinson’s.”
The condition affects around 145,000 Brits and experts predict numbers could increase by nearly a fifth to 172,00 by 2030.
It is a brain disorder that can cause involuntary shaking, slow movement and stiff or inflexible muscles.
There is no cure and patient’s symptoms get worse over time, making it harder to carry out day-to-day tasks.
But if it is caught early, changes to diet and exercise, physiotherapy, medications and brain surgery in some cases can help slow down its progression.
Around 30 per cent of Brits wear smartwatches, figures as of 2020 shows.
The devices can track a range of health data, including your heart rate, activity levels, sleep and step count.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, looked at whether they could be used to spot Parkinson’s.
Researchers tracked data in more than 103,000 Brits who wore a medical-grade smartwatch for seven days between 2013 and 2016.
An AI model was able to accurately predict if someone was diagnosed in the seven years since based on how quickly they moved during the week.
Dr Kathryn Peall said: “For most people with Parkinson’s disease, by the time they start to experience symptoms, many of the affected brain cells have already been lost.
“Smart watch data could provide a useful screening tool to aid in the early detection of the disease.
“This means that as new treatments hopefully begin to emerge, people will be able to access them before the disease causes extensive damage to the brain.”