HMN 2026: How Contact-free sensors could help track movement symptoms in Parkinson’s disease

Disease progression in people with Parkinson’s disease can be accurately monitored using sensors, removing some of the limitations of wearable technologies, a new study reports. In the study published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, scientists from the UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) Care Research & Technology Center, of which the University of Surrey is a key member, sought to develop a more accurate, zero-burden way to track movement changes in people affected by Parkinson’s.

Movement changes are a hallmark symptom of the disease and are traditionally difficult to monitor because measurements are infrequent during clinical visits. Wearable technologies are a viable alternative; however, they are not without challenges.

“Wearable technologies provide us with an invaluable insight into the life of those affected by Parkinson’s and enable us to monitor their symptoms at home. However, they do have their limitations as their accuracy can be strongly altered by a person’s arm swing and are reliant on a person wearing the device and ensuring it is charged.

“We wanted to see if sensors placed within the home could help us accurately track symptoms while also removing the burden on a person to remember to wear a device. It is vital that we are able to monitor disease progression as it helps guide treatment plans and ensures a person gets the medical support they need,” said Dr. Shlomi Haar, associate head of research and senior lecturer in cognitive neuroscience.

To learn whether sensors could help monitor movement changes in those affected by Parkinson’s, 15 participants with mild Parkinson’s symptoms and 14 healthy participants not affected by the disease were recruited to perform a 4-meter (13-foot) walking task in a living lab facility. Those with Parkinson’s participated in the task when they had just taken their medication and again when it was wearing off.

Two sensors—a radar device, which enables passive motion tracking by detecting changes in the environment without emitting any energy of its own, and a depth camera—were used to measure participants’ gait features, including stride length and stride time.

Both types of sensors could distinguish between people with Parkinson’s whose medication was wearing off and those not affected by the disease. The radar sensor also detected differences between the two time points—when participants had taken their medication and when it was wearing off—in people with Parkinson’s.

Neither sensor found a clear difference between people with Parkinson’s who had just taken their medication and healthy controls. This suggests medication reduced some of the walking differences that the sensors could detect.

“Our study shows that camera and radar systems could become useful tools for tracking movement over time in people affected by Parkinson’s. These devices could be used to track things like disease progression and response to treatment—enabling personalized medicine and improving the way we measure the success of new treatments in clinical trials,” Haar added.

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