Authors:
Yusuf Özgür Çakmak
1
;
S. Can Ölçek
2
;
Burak Özsoy
3
and
Didem Gökçay
2
Affiliations:
1
University of Otago, New Zealand
;
2
Middle East Technical University, Turkey
;
3
Global Dynamic Systems (GDS) ARGE, Turkey
Keyword(s):
Parkinsons, Bradykinesia, Updrs, Quantitative, Leap Motion, Pinching.
Abstract:
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the depletion of dopamine in the brain.
Tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and postural stability are the four major symptoms. Like other symptoms,
bradykinesia causing unnatural stillness/slowness in motions affects the daily life of the patients. The levels
of these symptoms are clinically assessed by a scoring system based on Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating
Scale (UPDRS). However, UPDRS relies on the visual observations of physicians rather than a test based
on quantitative measurements. This makes it not only difficulty to repeat but also subjective. Because of
these two major disadvantages, researchers build custom devices for their studies. But this leads to the
reliability issues and non-standard measurements. Thus, 24 PD patients were bilaterally UPDRS III (motor
subsection) scored and recorded for finger motion (pinching) by using commercially available off-the-shelf
(COTS) product called Leap Motion.
The various features extracted from recordings and UPDRS III scores
were analyzed for correlation. After the analysis, a linear model was created to estimate UPDRS III score.
The study revealed that Leap Motion, a COTS device, can be used to estimate bradykinesia of a patient with
PD.
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