2023-07-05 20:37:13
As we always reverberate around here, the Apple Watch is used in a variety of medical research, greatly assisting in monitoring, generating data and identifying conditions. One of these is the Parkinson diseasewhich has been the subject of other studies involving the smartwatch since at least 2016.
We have, then, another research in this direction and with considerably promising results. A study of British researchers, belonging to institutions such as the UK Dementia Research Institutefrom the University of Cardiff, used data from smartwatches and revealed that, from them, it is possible to identify signs of development of the degenerative disease.
The basis of the study is the accelerometer of smart watches, in order to use the predictive value of this component in terms of identifying early signs of the development of Parkinson’s disease. Thus, the idea is, from the speed of movements of people, look for and find patterns, differentiating them from the signs of other conditions.
According to the BBCthe study analyzed data from more than 103 mil smartwatch users — including the actor Michael J. Foxwhose history is portrayed in “STILL: I’m Still Michael J. Fox” (“A Michael J. Fox Movie”) — collected between 2013 and 2016. Only one week’s movement was monitored. UK Biobank information from over 500 mil people to compare data obtained from users who participated in the survey.
The most interesting of the results is that the data/signals detected — using artificial intelligence, or more specifically, machine learning — in people with Parkinson’s disease were different from those related to other diseases or issues such as age. So, second Kathryn Peallwho participated in the study, it would be possible to predict the development of the disease with up to seven years of before.
This potential may be especially important considering that the diagnoses of the referred disease are only performed with an advanced level of progression. At this stage, there is already a lot of damage to the neurons, so that the treatment — which still cannot achieve a cure — is not able to increase the quality of life of the affected people so much. In the United Kingdom, 30% of the inhabitants use smart watches, which demonstrates the high potential impact of research, something that may not be so intense here in Brazil, for example.
In this way, several possible impacts of the study can be identified, from clinical practice to research in the area, with the possibility of arriving at new forms of treatment in the future. The main idea, according to Peall, is to use the findings to find ways to slow the progression of the disease in patients, who could suffer fewer symptoms such as tremors and decreased movement, identifying the disease in earlier stages.
Although the study does not mention any specific smartwatch, it is worth remembering that Apple launched, in 2018, an APIApplication programming interfaceor application programming interface”>1 dedicated to facilitating the analysis and identification of movement-related diseases. The resource, therefore, can be very well used in research on Parkinson’s disease, such as the one from the University of Cardiff.
Although it has promoted important advances, the survey highlighted the importance of further analysis of the data collected, including comparing data from other locations. It is also important to avoid problems arising from the unrestricted use of new technologies, such as biases and system failures.
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