Wearable technologies that monitor Parkinson’s symptoms recommended for use by NHS in England
NICE has conditionally recommended 5 remote monitoring devices for Parkinson’s for use by the NHS in England. Further data on how the devices improve health, quality of life and the cost of care will shape a final recommendation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has said that 5 devices that remotely monitor symptoms of Parkinson’s can be offered by clinicians to people with Parkinson’s.
The devices that NICE has recommended are Kinesia 360, KinesiaU, PDMonitor, Personal KinetiGraph (PKG), and STAT‑ON. Read more about the guidance on the NICE website.
How do the devices work?
These devices are worn at home over several days while they track and record your movement symptoms. This information is sent to your Parkinson’s health professional to interpret it and discuss any changes needed to your care and treatment.
Use of these devices may help avoid unnecessary trips into a clinic or help you to get seen sooner if an issue is identified in between appointments.
However, we do not believe that these devices should be used to replace face-to-face appointments entirely.
Supporting this development
Parkinson’s UK was an early supporter of this type of technology, providing funding to Plymouth University Hospital to trial use of the PKG device as part of their Home Based Parkinson's Care pathway.
In the trial, the device helped support self-management of a person’s Parkinson’s and identified problems early.
People with Parkinson’s who used the device shared their thoughts:
- "It’s very easy to wear, it doesn’t get in the way at all, I’m surprised they can get so much information out of it".
- "I can see the benefit in the short-term and the long-term in terms of key milestones that you’re being monitored against".
NICE has asked services who use the devices to collect more information on how using them impacts on a person with Parkinson’s health and quality of life. Services will also assess whether their use represents value for money for the NHS.
We hope this decision by NICE will help see use of the PKG and the other remote monitoring devices spread across the NHS. We welcomed the NHS England announcement last year and have been meeting with them to understand more about their plans. Read the full announcement on the NHS England website.
Please speak to your Parkinson’s nurse or consultant for more information.
Get involved in our campaign
We need your help to make sure people with Parkinson's get the care they need.
Email the health secretary to call on the UK government to develop a workforce plan that gives people with Parkinson’s access to consultants, nurses, physiotherapists, mental health professionals, speech therapists and occupational therapists.