JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Freezing of gait (FoG) is one of the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Detecting and monitoring episodes of FoG is important in the medical follow-up of patients to assess disease progression, functional impact and to adjust treatment accordingly. Although several questionnaires exist, they lack objectivity. Utilizing wearable sensors such as inertial measurement units (IMUs), to detect FoG episodes offers greater objectivity and accuracy. There is no consensus on the number, location of IMU, type of algorithm, and method of triggering and scoring the FoG.

Objective:

The objective of this study is to investigate the use of multiple wearable sensor sets to detect freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease during various walking tasks under different medication conditions.

Methods:

This single-center prospective cohort study will include 18 patients with Parkinson's disease. Patients will be fitted with 7 IMUs and will walk a freezing path under different tasks conditions corresponding to 'single task' (ST), 'dual motor task' (DMT) or 'dual verbal task' (DVT) and medical conditions corresponding to 'on' or 'off' levodopa medication (ON/OFF). Passages will be videotaped and two movement disorder specialists will identify FoG episodes on the videos. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the most effective combination of wearable sensors for detecting FoG episodes will be studied.

Results:

The research began in February 2024, and the results are expected to be published in 2025.

Conclusions:

Detecting FOG episodes in all medical and clinical settings would provide a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. Furthermore, it would enable reliable and objective monitoring of the progression of this symptom based on treatments and the natural course of the disease. This could be an objective tool for monitoring patients and assessing the severity and frequency of FoG. Clinical Trial: The study design was approved by the ethical committee of Ile de France III number 23.01067.000298-MS01 the 1st October 2023 and registered under the number NCT05822258 on Clinicaltrials.gov. All data collection will be carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Participants will give informed consent to participate in the study before taking part.