Objective:  The aim of this study is to objectively detect and quantify freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients during everyday activities.

Background: FOG is one of the debilitating features in PD. There have been no satisfying methods to identify and quantify FOG outside of the clinic.

Methods: Patients were selected from among 36 patients who participated in our previous prospective study on FOG and falls. We developed a motion recorder (body-fixed 3D accelerometer) with a long-lasting battery. The movements of recurrent PD fallers with severe FOG were recorded using the waist-mounted device in the outpatient clinic and during their everyday activities. A newly developed freezing index (cross correlation calculation based on pattern matching) was calculated. We also calculated the previously validated freezing index (ratio of power spectrum, freeze band power 3-8 Hz/locomotor band 0.5-3Hz) and compared it with its modified index (ratio of power spectrum, 3-8Hz/1-3Hz).

Results: During FOG, knee trembling was recorded as a rapid oscillation of acceleration. The freezing index of all three directions (AP, V, ML) increased during the start and turning hesitations, but the highest freezing index at each FOG episode varied in accordance with the direction. Compared with the validated method, the modified freezing index (power 3-8Hz/1-3Hz) was higher.

Conclusions:  Motion recording using our wearable 3D sensor is useful for detecting FOG in PD patients. Calculating the freezing index with various algorithms could improve the quantification of FOG.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/objective-identification-of-freezing-of-gait-in-parkinsons-disease-patients-using-a-triaxial-accelerometer/