JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Due to the complicated nature of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a number of subjective considerations (e.g., staging schemes, clinical assessment tools, or questionnaires) on how best to assess clinical deficits and monitor clinical progression have been published; however, none of these considerations include a comprehensively objective assessment of all functional areas of neurocognition affected by PD (e.g., motor, memory, speech, language, executive function, autonomic function, sensory, behavior, and sleep). This systematic review analyzes the increasing use of digital health technology (e.g., smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices) for the classification, staging, and monitoring of PD. Further, this review proposes a foundation for a new staging schema that builds from multiple clinically implemented scales (e.g., the Hoehn and Yahr Scale, and the Berg Balance Scale) for ease and homogeneity, while implementing digital health technology to expand current staging protocols such that they encompass an objective, symptom-specific assessment of all functional areas of neurocognition via inherent device capabilities (e.g., device sensors and human device interactions). As individuals with PD may manifest different symptoms at different times across the spectrum of neurocognition, the modernization of assessments that include objective, symptom-specific monitoring is imperative for personalized medicine and maintaining individual quality of life.