Session Information
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Session Title: Tremor
Session Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm
Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2
Objective: Using optimization formula of different visuo-motor parameter in digital spirogram to differentiate patients with essential tremor from Parkinson’s disease.
Background: Early-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) is sometimes difficult to be differentiated from essential tremor (ET) patients. Impairment of visuo-motor function in PD is well known, and the same impairment could also occurred in ET, though may be due to different pathophysiology. We developed two kinds of visuo-motor tests (tracing and tracking) using digital spirograms to evaluate the presenting feature in PD and ET groups, and determined a formulation to differentiated them.
Methods: We conducted the digital spirogram test for 10 ET and 10 PD patients. Each patient performed digital tracing (Tc) and tracking (Tk) spirograms. 
We analyzed static tracing and dynamic tracking differences in velocity distribution. Several velocity-related parameters obtained from the digital spirogram test were used for generate an optimized formula to differentiate these two patient groups.
Results: Both ET and PD patient groups have multiple drawing directional errors compared to spirogram template. For the velocity distribution during tracking, PD patients and ET patients presented different (1) mean tracking velocity (2) velocity distribution (3) peak velocity and (4) velocity standard deviation. It indicates that visuo-motor dysfunctions in PD and ET patients are not identical. An optimized formula with different weighting coefficient to the above-mentioned parameters that can well differentiate ET and PD groups was then determined. 
Conclusions: Our data suggest PD and ET patients had different visuo-motor coordination ability and could be unveiled by different spirogram tracking patterns. It could be a plausible way for clinical physician to make further distinction between PD and ET.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
K.H. Chen, Y.J. Chen, P.C.L. Lin, B.S. Yang, C.H. Lin, R.M. Wu. An optimized formulation of velocity distribution in digital spiral analysis to differentiate essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/an-optimized-formulation-of-velocity-distribution-in-digital-spiral-analysis-to-differentiate-essential-tremor-and-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to 2016 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/an-optimized-formulation-of-velocity-distribution-in-digital-spiral-analysis-to-differentiate-essential-tremor-and-parkinsons-disease/