About this Research Topic
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder presenting a wide range of motor and non-motor symptoms. The disease can appear and develop at different ages, with no known cure and currently it is only possible to reduce the severity of the symptoms to help maintain and improve the quality of life of persons with PD.
Having an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible is critical, as well as the possibility of properly monitoring the evolution of the disease. This is not always straightforward because, in many cases, the frequency of visits to the specialist is relatively low and the time spent per visit is limited.
This leads to a scenario in which a large number of patients are not correctly diagnosed or are underdiagnosed and therefore they are not receiving the optimum treatment for their condition.
Additionally, some symptoms of PD are not adequately treated using pharmacological solutions and the technology (like wearable electronic devices) may provide scope for digital therapeutics to more effectively treat these symptoms.
The objective of the Research topic is to study how technology, in its different facets, can help healthcare professionals to enhance the performance of their clinical activity.
The main questions to be answered are: (i) does technology, in its current state, allow for better diagnosis and provide the possibility of deciding on therapeutic changes, which are better adapted to the needs of the patient (ii) does wearable technology also potentially provide scope for some enhanced novel therapies?
If the answer is yes, then a vast range of possibilities exist, ranging from the use of wearables and other personal devices for the detection and measurement of parameters related to motor symptoms, to other more specialized technology to detect other related parameters (EEG, EMG, SMEG) and also to a range of wearable digital therapeutics.
Advances in the research domain should enable improved decision-making by clinicians, as well as progress in complementary fields such as control and improvement of diet, daily exercise or prescribed rehabilitation.
This Research Topic welcomes original research papers or high-quality manuscripts covering state-of-the-art, reviews and novel methodologies and applications where technology plays a fundamental role.
Subjects of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Detection and measurement of PD motor symptoms.
• PD evaluation and follow-up at home environment.
• Technology aids for early assessment of PD.
• Technological contribution to the identification of advanced patients.
• New technological based services for people affected by PD.
• eHealth services in the domain of PD treatment.
• Wearable digital therapeutics for PD.
Topic Editor Joan Cabestany is a shareholder of the company SENSE4CARE (Spain). Topic Editor Gearóid Ólaighin holds the granted patent pertaining to cueStim. The other Topic Editor declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Having an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible is critical, as well as the possibility of properly monitoring the evolution of the disease. This is not always straightforward because, in many cases, the frequency of visits to the specialist is relatively low and the time spent per visit is limited.
This leads to a scenario in which a large number of patients are not correctly diagnosed or are underdiagnosed and therefore they are not receiving the optimum treatment for their condition.
Additionally, some symptoms of PD are not adequately treated using pharmacological solutions and the technology (like wearable electronic devices) may provide scope for digital therapeutics to more effectively treat these symptoms.
The objective of the Research topic is to study how technology, in its different facets, can help healthcare professionals to enhance the performance of their clinical activity.
The main questions to be answered are: (i) does technology, in its current state, allow for better diagnosis and provide the possibility of deciding on therapeutic changes, which are better adapted to the needs of the patient (ii) does wearable technology also potentially provide scope for some enhanced novel therapies?
If the answer is yes, then a vast range of possibilities exist, ranging from the use of wearables and other personal devices for the detection and measurement of parameters related to motor symptoms, to other more specialized technology to detect other related parameters (EEG, EMG, SMEG) and also to a range of wearable digital therapeutics.
Advances in the research domain should enable improved decision-making by clinicians, as well as progress in complementary fields such as control and improvement of diet, daily exercise or prescribed rehabilitation.
This Research Topic welcomes original research papers or high-quality manuscripts covering state-of-the-art, reviews and novel methodologies and applications where technology plays a fundamental role.
Subjects of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Detection and measurement of PD motor symptoms.
• PD evaluation and follow-up at home environment.
• Technology aids for early assessment of PD.
• Technological contribution to the identification of advanced patients.
• New technological based services for people affected by PD.
• eHealth services in the domain of PD treatment.
• Wearable digital therapeutics for PD.
Topic Editor Joan Cabestany is a shareholder of the company SENSE4CARE (Spain). Topic Editor Gearóid Ólaighin holds the granted patent pertaining to cueStim. The other Topic Editor declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
Keywords: wearables, motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, early diagnosis, advanced treatment, Artificial Intelligence algorithms, patient empowerment, eHealth for Parkinson, digital therapeutics, digital health, connected health
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
