Session Information
Date: Thursday, June 8, 2017
Session Title: Other
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Exhibit Hall C
Objective: To investigate the utility of a symptomatic diary of motor fluctuations of Parkinson’s disease (PD) using a smartphone application.
Background: In the conference last year, we reported a smartwatch application as a recording device of motor fluctuations of patients with PD. Although the overall impression of using a smartwatch was favorable, there were several difficulties. Firstly, it was too small for some patients to use. Secondly, the PD population using a smartwatch is quite small, and some subjects struggled to use it, leading to failure to participate in the study. In contrast, more than one-third of the people over the age of 60 are using smartphones in Japan – including our PD patients. And it has a bigger display. So we developed a simple smartphone application for a symptom diary using the iPhone as a platform.
Methods: We conducted an exploratory study to assess the usefulness of a smartphone-based symptom diary. After collecting background information, investigators had patients download the application. They were asked to use the app to record their motor fluctuation for up to 2 weeks. Then we evaluated the subjects’ impressions of the software using a questionnaire, as well as comparing the historical ratio of missing data in a paper-based and smartwatch-based symptom diary.
Results: 10 patients participated in the study. They could understand how to use the software without difficulties. The overall impressions of using a smartphone to record their symptoms were favorable among subjects as well as investigators. The recorded ratio of missing data was less than that of a paper-based diary, although it was not so in the smartwatch-based diary.
Conclusions: A smartphone-based symptom diary is useful and effective in a daily setting without disturbing the daily activities of patients. The record ratio was high and it seems to be practical considering the situation that smartphone users are increasing among the elderly population in Japan.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
H. Ohtsubo, H. Iwaki, H. Yabe, M. Nagai, M. Nomoto. Development of utility to evaluate a symptomatic diary of motor fluctuations of Parkinson’s disease (PD) using a smartphone application. [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2017; 32 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/development-of-utility-to-evaluate-a-symptomatic-diary-of-motor-fluctuations-of-parkinsons-disease-pd-using-a-smartphone-application/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2017 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/development-of-utility-to-evaluate-a-symptomatic-diary-of-motor-fluctuations-of-parkinsons-disease-pd-using-a-smartphone-application/