Background: As the most characteristic feature of Parkinsonââ?¬â?¢s disease (PD), bradykinesia\n(slowness of movement) affects all patients with Parkinsonââ?¬â?¢s disease and interferes\nwith their daily activities. This study introduces a wearable bradykinesia assessment\nsystem whose core component is composed of an inertial measurement unit.\nMethods: The system diagram and assessment task were defined in accordance with\nclinical requirements from neurologists. Based on hand grasping actions, calculations\nof hand grasping ranges and statistical methods of quantitatively assessing parkinsonian\nbradykinesia were presented. Seven control subjects and eight patients were\ntested with this system.\nResults: Experimental results show that a calculated bradykinesia parameter (modified\nmean range, instead of mean and standard deviation of the grasp ranges) correlated\nwell with the evaluations of a neurologist (Pearsonââ?¬â?¢s correlation coefficient\nr = âË?â??0.83, p < 0.001).\nConclusions: The bradykinesia assessment system was tested on both health subjects\nand PD patients. The results show that this system has greater correlation with the\nevaluations by neurologists than other parkinsonian bradykinesia assessment systems.\nThe modified mean range was verified as the major bradykinesia parameter (key indicator).\nThis study is helpful to those who want to use consumer-grade inertial sensors\nfor quantitative assessment of motor symptoms during treatment.
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