Radio wave devices can remotely track Parkinson's disease and treatment responses at home| Science and Translational Medicine

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According to a year-long study involving 50 participants, scientists have created a new device that captures radio waves in patients' homes, which tracks
the progression of Parkinson's disease and the effects of medications.

Because patients are challenged to travel to clinical centers for traditional examinations and testing, the device can meet the growing need to
evaluate Parkinson's disease methods at home.


Parkinson's disease can cause debilitating motor symptoms and tremors, which can interfere with the patient's gait and ability to walk; Developing new treatments requires tests that can objectively track disease progression and drug utility
.

However, patients may have difficulty traveling to city centers where most disease specialists are located, so many patients end up not being able to see a neurologist
.
To meet the need for home testing, Yingcheng Liu and colleagues invented a device that eliminates the need
for patients to wear sensors or actively self-test.

Their device is similar to a WiFi router that can be placed in a home, and it can stably detect radio waves
reflected from a person's body.
Based on these radio waves, the device can infer the patient's gait speed and any interruptions they experience while exercising, allowing for continuous monitoring
of the patient's motor symptoms.

The team tested the device for a year in the homes of 34 Parkinson's patients and 16 healthy subjects, collecting 200,000 gait test values associated with the gold standard for disease ratings
.

In addition, the device also acquired the way
gait measurements fluctuated throughout the day in response to taking drugs such as levodopa.
Liu et al.
said the findings are "significant, especially given the social distancing measures required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing
number of people with chronic diseases.
"
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