Body-worn sensors used at home and in clinic by people with mild Alzheimer’s to assess walking could offer a cost-effective way to detect early disease and monitor progression of the illness.
A pilot study involving Newcastle University, UK, has revealed low-cost wearable devices could improve clinical trial efficiency and encourage research investment.
Identification of clinical biomarkers, such as changes in walking characteristics and behaviors, are known to be important factors when looking at early warning signs of dementia.
Findings of a feasibility study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, shows that wearable sensors offer a good way to assess changes in how a person walks and also can be used for continuous ‘free-living’ monitoring of gait during everyday activities.
Experts say this method has the potential for affordable, multi-centre and home-based monitoring that benefits patients, clinical management, and the efficiency of clinical trials.
Lynn Rochester, Professor of Human Movement Science at Newcastle University, leads the gait and wearable technology research across multiple sites in the study.
The human movement laboratory at the Clinical Ageing Research Unit, based at the Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, is dedicated to the investigation of gait, balance and mobility.
Professor Rochester said: “How someone walks is not routinely used in clinical trials because the tools needed are typically restricted to specialized labs and one-off testing, missing subtle fluctuations in symptoms.
“Wearable sensors at home and in the clinic have the potential to change dementia research. The ability to assess gait and walking behaviors in all aspects of life is a major step forwards in data collection.
Six centers from the National Institute for Health Research Translational Research Collaboration in Dementia initiative, including Newcastle University, recruited 20 patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Volunteers wore a small wearable sensor on their lower back. They carried out walking tasks in the laboratory and then went home wearing the sensor for a week, carrying out everyday tasks.
Gait is emerging as a potential diagnostic tool for cognitive decline. The tools to quantify gait in the clinic and home, and suitability for multi-centre application, have not been examined until now.
Findings show data for comprehensive and clinically appropriate measures can be obtained for walking behavior and pattern, and gait characteristics relating to the pace, timing, variability, and asymmetry of walking.
Experts have concluded that it is feasible to assess quantitative gait characteristics in both the clinic and home environment in patients with early onset Alzheimer’s disease with body-worn sensors.
Professor Rochester said: “Body-worn sensors can provide an enriched picture of an individual’s gait function and walking activities that could act as a complimentary diagnostic tools for clinicians.
“Clinical use of body-worn sensors in annual health assessments could track gait changes over time and act as a red flag for cognitive impairment.”
Further research is needed to assess the potential of free-living gait as a useful complementary diagnostic marker for dementia.
