Category: Technology
Objective: To describe the transition of a novel study in Parkinson disease (PD) evaluating four technologies—the mPower 2.0 smartphone application, MC10 wearable BioStamp nPoint® sensors, Emerald in-home activity monitor, and PARK video analytics tool—to a partially virtual model during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background: Novel technologies provide objective, frequent, sensitive data to assess some PD manifestations in real-world settings. The concurrent evaluation of multiple remote technologies allows for a fuller characterization of PD in everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted clinical research; these technologies have enabled continued, safe assessment throughout the pandemic.
Method: This two-year observational study of up to 200 individuals with and without PD asks participants to use at least two technologies, one being the PARK video analytics tool. Study visits at baseline and months 6, 12, and 24 include standard clinical assessments of PD alongside technology-related activities. Remote activities include quarterly 2-week sessions of mPower motor tasks, 1-week periods of MC10 biosensor use, and constant passive monitoring by the Emerald device.
Results: At the time COVID-19 was declared a national emergency, 38 participants with PD (mean (SD) age 68.13 (8.53), 28.9% female) and 31 without PD (mean (SD) age 62.18 (13.78), 48.4% female) were enrolled. Month 6 visits were converted to video-based visits (98% successfully completed) and participants were given the option of completing all other visits virtually. Compliance with remote activities did not decline. Fifty-five percent of mPower participants completed active smartphone tasks (56% pre-COVID-19) and MC10 sensor participants wore sensors for mean (SD) 6.77 (0.55) days (versus 6.63 (1.11) days pre-COVID-19).
Conclusion: We successfully transitioned this novel natural history study to a partially virtual model with uninterrupted data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital technologies are promising tools that can enable continuous remote data collection. This work will elucidate the effect of PD on everyday life and may generate novel outcome measures for clinical research and care.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Jensen-Roberts, E. Waddell, T. Myers, M. Pawlik, J. Soto, A. Sarkar, M. Coffey, E. Stevenson, R. Wilson, E. Dorsey, K. Lizarraga, C. Tarolli, R. Schneider, J. Adams. Technology-based adaptation of a natural history study of Parkinson disease during the COVID-19 pandemic [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2021; 36 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/technology-based-adaptation-of-a-natural-history-study-of-parkinson-disease-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/. Accessed May 13, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2021
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/technology-based-adaptation-of-a-natural-history-study-of-parkinson-disease-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/