A multimodal approach for Parkinson disease analysis

TL;DR

This paper presents an ongoing project investigating whether voice and handwriting analysis can serve as non-invasive, cost-effective indicators of swallowing and balance issues in Parkinson's disease patients, potentially simplifying diagnosis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to predict PD-related impairments using voice and handwriting analysis, aiming for easier and less stressful diagnostics.

Findings

Potential correlation between voice/handwriting analysis and standard diagnostic methods

Low intrusiveness of proposed analysis methods

Cost-effective and easy to implement in clinical settings

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disease with prevalence among general population reaching 0.1-1 %, and an annual incidence between 1.3-2.0/10000 inhabitants. The mean age at diagnosis of PD is 55 and most patients are between 50 and 80 years old. The most obvious symptoms are movement-related; these include tremor, rigidity, slowness of movement and walking difficulties. Frequently these are the symptoms that lead to the PD diagnoses. Later, thinking and behavioral problems may arise, and other symptoms include cognitive impairment and sensory, sleep and emotional problems. In this paper we will present an ongoing project that will evaluate if voice and handwriting analysis can be reliable predictors/indicators of swallowing and balance impairments in PD. An important advantage of voice and handwritten analysis is its low intrusiveness and easy implementation in clinical practice. Thus, if a significant correlation between these simple analyses and the gold standard video-fluoroscopic analysis will imply simpler and less stressing diagnostic test for the patients as well as the use of cheaper analysis systems.