A smartwatch could detect Parkinson’s disease up to 7 years early

Smartwatches are slowly becoming instrumental healthcare devices, with several instances proving them as potential life savers. Despite their size, they are packed with sensors that can detect pulse oxygen levels, heart rate and monitor the body’s basal temperature as well. It’s no wonder that the internet is full of stories about smartwatches alerting users of irregular heartbeats, blood clots and even tumours in some cases. 

If that wasn’t enough, a recent study has taken the smartwatch’s potential life-saving capabilities to another level. Given the data it collects, the wearable could be capable of detecting early signs of Parkinson’s disease as early as seven years before symptoms start appearing. 

The study, conducted by the UK Dementia Research Institute team at Cardiff University, used Artificial Intelligence to investigate data collected from over 1,03,712 smartwatch users. The analysis tracked their speed of movement through a single week for three years (2013 to 2016) and was actually able to pinpoint the users who could go on to develop Parkinson’s later in life.

How could a smartwatch help in detecting the disease?

Parkinson’s is known to have no clear indicator and is often considered challenging to cure post-diagnosis. The disease often implies that the nerve cells producing dopamine have begun to die, and this damage ultimately causes uncontrollable movement, including shaking and sluggish activity.  

Most smartwatches today come equipped with a host of sensors that measure your body’s acceleration. This study used an accelerometer to track the smartwatch users’ physical activity, sleep patterns, and lifestyle. Based on the collected data, researchers were able to draw a prediction and estimate a possible time the users will develop Parkinson’s.

Dr. Rakesh Lalla, Consultant Neurology at Fortis, concurs that the smart wearables are set to play a big role in detecting such diseases early. In the case of Parkinson’s disease, Dr. Lalla says that AI-powered devices will be able to identify as well as aid in better patient care.  

“These devices will aid care by identifying and predicting on and off periods of Dyskinesia, along with freezing episodes,” he said. “Even generating fall alerts in patients using smartwatches helps ease the life of caregivers as falls and fractures are a major cause of morbidity in Parkinson’s patients.” 

Not surprisingly, medical experts believe that AI will eventually have a significant impact in the field of medicine. “Apart from identifying disease patterns, behaviours, triggers and specific causative agents, about which we are presently unaware of, AI also has the ability to process massive data and bring it into use for a greater cause,” Lalla concludes. “Together, this can be the forte of AI in the medical management of many diseases.” 

While early days, there are strong signs that smart wearables and AI-powered devices are set to play an important role in the world of medicine.