On-Body Sensor Position Identification with a Simple, Robust and Accurate Method, Validated in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 Jul:2020:4156-4159. doi: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9175913.

Abstract

The aim of this work is to implement and validate an automated method for the localization of body-worn inertial sensors. Often, body-sensor networks with inertial measurement units (IMU) used in rehabilitation and ambient monitoring of patients with movement disorders, require specific markings or labels for the correct body placement. This introduces a burden, which, especially for ambient monitoring, could lead to errors or reduced adherence. We propose a method to automatically identify sensors attached on a predefined set of body placements, namely, wrists, shanks and torso. The method was used in a multi-site clinical trial with Parkinson's disease patients and in 45 sessions it identified sensor placement on torso, wrists and shanks with 100% accuracy, discriminated between left and right shank with 100% accuracy and between left and right wrist with 98% accuracy. This is remarkable, considering the presence of parkinsonian motor symptoms causing abnormal movement patterns, such as dyskinesia.Clinical Relevance- This method can facilitate home monitoring of patients with movement disorders.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Automation
  • Dyskinesias*
  • Humans
  • Parkinson Disease*
  • Posture*
  • Torso
  • Wearable Electronic Devices*
  • Wrist