The assessment of movement disorders in the clinic or during clinical trials currently relies on clinical rating scales performed by clinicians with sufficient clinical expertise. These rater-dependent measures lack sensitivity, may not be linear assessments of disease progression, and have ceiling effects in advanced disease, with floor effects in the early stages. However, for clinical trial readiness, sensitive and rater-independent biomarkers are urgently needed to identify the earliest signs of disease manifestation, monitor disease progression, and reduce the sample size, with consequent reduction of time and costs. This is particularly important in rare or combined movement disorders, where there may be overlapping features and phenomenology, which makes clinical assessment especially challenging. To overcome such obstacles, objective kinematic measures using digital technology are currently being studied and such measures are now being included in early-adopting clinical trials.
Over the past several years, there has been increasing interest in the quantitative evaluation of human movement using technology, including the burgeoning area of wearable technology, allowing multiple assessments of a single patient over time, which can capture natural variations and fluctuations in symptoms.
This Research Topic will aim to collect original studies and reviews covering the range of digital motor and voice assessments in movement disorders, including tremor, parkinsonism, ataxia, dystonia, myoclonus, degenerative spastic disorders, functional (psychogenic) movement disorders, as well as balance, gait, eye, and voice features associated with movement disorders.
We are interested in different types of quantitative digital assessment technology including motor analysis using inertial motion sensors, force plates, surface electromyography, optical camera and video-based assessment, oculography, as well as digital audio analysis. Given the burgeoning interest in wearable and other home/daily life settings, this issue will also encompass the area of ecologic digital data collection, involving both assessments of passive, unconstrained physical activity and active standardized tasks as both complementary, and in comparison to, formal laboratory-based assessment. We will aim to demonstrate how comparable these quantitative digital measures are to the current “gold standard” clinical assessment and the potential for their use as diagnostic tools and potential continuous clinical trial endpoints.
The scope of this Research Topic will be to demonstrate the breadth of quantitative digital assessment in movement disorders, including Parkinsonism, ataxia, dystonia, tremor, chorea, myoclonus and other forms. These novel digital measures may represent a more granular and accurate assessment of changes in motor and speech severity over time. The authors selected will have expertise in the quantitative digital assessment of movement disorders and highlight potential benefits for these technologies for use in clinical practice and future clinical trials.
Thus, topic editors will welcome any types of manuscripts supported by the Journal – comprised of research article, brief research article, review, and mini-review – pertaining, but not limited to the following themes demonstrating the breadth of quantitative digital assessment in movement disorders:
- Parkinsonism
- Ataxia
- Dystonia
- Tremor
- Chorea
- Myoclonus (and other forms)
The assessment of movement disorders in the clinic or during clinical trials currently relies on clinical rating scales performed by clinicians with sufficient clinical expertise. These rater-dependent measures lack sensitivity, may not be linear assessments of disease progression, and have ceiling effects in advanced disease, with floor effects in the early stages. However, for clinical trial readiness, sensitive and rater-independent biomarkers are urgently needed to identify the earliest signs of disease manifestation, monitor disease progression, and reduce the sample size, with consequent reduction of time and costs. This is particularly important in rare or combined movement disorders, where there may be overlapping features and phenomenology, which makes clinical assessment especially challenging. To overcome such obstacles, objective kinematic measures using digital technology are currently being studied and such measures are now being included in early-adopting clinical trials.
Over the past several years, there has been increasing interest in the quantitative evaluation of human movement using technology, including the burgeoning area of wearable technology, allowing multiple assessments of a single patient over time, which can capture natural variations and fluctuations in symptoms.
This Research Topic will aim to collect original studies and reviews covering the range of digital motor and voice assessments in movement disorders, including tremor, parkinsonism, ataxia, dystonia, myoclonus, degenerative spastic disorders, functional (psychogenic) movement disorders, as well as balance, gait, eye, and voice features associated with movement disorders.
We are interested in different types of quantitative digital assessment technology including motor analysis using inertial motion sensors, force plates, surface electromyography, optical camera and video-based assessment, oculography, as well as digital audio analysis. Given the burgeoning interest in wearable and other home/daily life settings, this issue will also encompass the area of ecologic digital data collection, involving both assessments of passive, unconstrained physical activity and active standardized tasks as both complementary, and in comparison to, formal laboratory-based assessment. We will aim to demonstrate how comparable these quantitative digital measures are to the current “gold standard” clinical assessment and the potential for their use as diagnostic tools and potential continuous clinical trial endpoints.
The scope of this Research Topic will be to demonstrate the breadth of quantitative digital assessment in movement disorders, including Parkinsonism, ataxia, dystonia, tremor, chorea, myoclonus and other forms. These novel digital measures may represent a more granular and accurate assessment of changes in motor and speech severity over time. The authors selected will have expertise in the quantitative digital assessment of movement disorders and highlight potential benefits for these technologies for use in clinical practice and future clinical trials.
Thus, topic editors will welcome any types of manuscripts supported by the Journal – comprised of research article, brief research article, review, and mini-review – pertaining, but not limited to the following themes demonstrating the breadth of quantitative digital assessment in movement disorders:
- Parkinsonism
- Ataxia
- Dystonia
- Tremor
- Chorea
- Myoclonus (and other forms)