Parkinson’s disease can be a hard disease to manage. Not only does it take a physical and emotional toll on patients and loved ones, but managing every day activities can be different. The disease is unpredictable, which can make it hard to plan when a loved one needs adjustments to their medicine to manage their symptoms.
However, a new device connects Parkinson patients to their specialists and allows an easy way for doctors to monitor the disease remotely. The UK pilot project is called Personal Kinetigraph (PKG). The PKG is being delivered in partnership with the Cure Parkinson’s Trust and other organizations along with nearly $100,000 from the Health Foundation.
The PKG, manufactured by Global Kinetics, may offer a transformation in the care for conditions like Parkinson’s in the UK. The project is a wrist device that is worn like a watch. This special watch monitors a patient’s motor conditions at home. It uses a complex algorithm to process the data and also asks patients to self-report non-motor symptoms including any mood changes to be used in conjunction with the movement information.
Patients put the PKG on for six days straight. During this time, their health care providers are able to pinpoint any treatment changes that may be required. The providers work remotely and can offer calls or recommend a doctor’s appointments when necessary.
This will also help fill a gap in patient care. The UK recommends that Parkinson’s go to their specialist at least every 6 months. A recent study showed that 46% of the time patients do not make it to the doctor ever six months and that 60% of that time they go a year or more without seeing a specialist. Some parts of the UK do not even have the community Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists (PDN) in the area to assist patients.
This device is arriving on the scene in a timely manner considering the number of people with Parkinson’s disease will grow by 20% in 2025. Hopefully this device will help patients live the best life they can for as long as possible. The project is set to have 150 patients in Plymouth City be the first ones to test out the PKG Device.
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