Remote monitoring of Parkinson's disease - Empowerment of patients and improved treatment using ICT-based tools (EMPARK)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are needed for improving the clinical management and quality of life of individuals with chronic diseases. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Previous research has shown that ICT-based tools can be used in assessing PD-related outcomes with good validity and reliability. However, for a sustainable utilization of such tools, patients need to experience a long-term impact on their behaviour and health, which to date is rarely achieved.

This project aims to investigate personalized treatment of PD patients supported by a smartphone-based system. Usefulness and potential change behaviour will be measured based on techniques for patient empowerment and self-assessment. In this project, registration of symptoms and dosage information is combined with adequate feedback on the past and current state of the disease. The project will also provide possibilities for clinicians at a neurology clinic to access new types of continuous data, invaluable both for research and for giving patients advice at follow-up encounters. In a clinical study, a multidisciplinary team consisting of people from industry, healthcare and academia, will evaluate the system together with PD patients. In addition to generating published knowledge the university researchers will strengthen their ability to further the research area of remote monitoring and patient empowerment in co-operation with companies and other stakeholders. The outcome of the PD patient assessments will also be evaluated for use in a general setting of elderly care. The participating industrial partners will improve their knowledge and ability to further develop competitive products.