Editorial (Hot Topic: Remote Monitoring of Movement Disorders)

Abstract

Remote monitoring technologies provide means for low-cost, long-term, frequent and repeated assessments of patients, havingpotential to improve the quality and efficiency of care and increase treatment compliance. This thematic issue covers methodsand apparatuses aimed for remote detection and quantification of impairments related to movement disorders such as Parkinson’sdisease, tremors and related disorders. Instances of this include electronic diaries, body-attached sensors, and videobasedassessment systems to name a few. Accurate and timely symptom information has a real potential of improving patients’quality of life since some symptoms are in fact treatable although timing and individualization of treatment delivery are essential.Today assessments of motor symptoms and follow-up of treatments are primarily done by using clinical ratings based onobservations and judgments by physicians or by patient home diaries. More objective assessment methods for quantifying motorfunction can complement and enhance the physician and patient perspectives. Recent advances in micro-electro-mechanical,wireless and internet technologies are now making this option possible, along with a gradual acceptance from the medical profession.The issue contains five articles discussing recent innovations concerning different types of wearable sensors, video processing,different testing devices and related aspects on data transfer and processing. The contexts of the articles are different assome focus on a technology and some on a phenomenon to monitor. Topics about how to manage devices for symptom monitoringby input control innovations are also covered. One article focuses on the state of art and technical challenges associatedwith the hardware design of novel wearable movement sensors appropriate for biomedical applications. Another article reviewspatents of computerized gait disorder analysis with a special focus on computer vision. A third article provides a review of recentpatents focused on detection and quantification of human tremor. Another article focuses on technology with the aim toallow people with movement disorders to control their environment including input devices in form of switches and touchscreens, inertia and inclinometer sensors, voice control and gesture control. One article reviews patents concerning assessmentsof patients through repeated measurements which take into account subjective and objective health indicators.With an aging world population, there is a projected increase globally in neurological diagnoses including common movementdisorders. The number of sufferers from Parkinson’s disease will be around 10 million in 2030, which is about twice thenumber today. In combination with well-known limiting resources in society, this will lead to strong demands for efficiency inthe healthcare sector. Caregiver organizations of today are becoming increasingly more mature in adopting monitoring technologyin their practice, which opens up opportunities for technology providers. Successful adoption of adequate remote monitoringtechnologies may lead to better access to healthcare, not least for patients in developing countries.