Blog: Modernising medicine: using smartphones to transform Parkinson’s care in the NHS
Smartphones are a part of everyday life for most people, but could they also help fill a gap in the care provided to people with Parkinson’s? One company is making strides in this area, using data to monitor Parkinson’s symptoms. Consultant Neurologist and Neu Health Co-founder, Dr Kinan Muhammed explains.
Recent technological advances are having a significant positive impact on healthcare. Gene editing offers new hope for treating rare genetic diseases, and continuous glucose monitoring devices provide precise insulin management for diabetes, allowing patients to live their lives with minimal impact.
Despite these advancements, Parkinson’s monitoring still relies heavily on subjective in-person clinical assessments, normally conducted only once or twice a year.
Outpatient consultations are often very time constrained. Patients might be asked to perform tasks like getting up from a chair and walking or tapping their fingers repeatedly, while clinicians need to rely on their judgement from a potentially unrepresentative snapshot in time.
Neu Health aims to change this with very familiar technology: the smartphone. These devices are always with us and are packed with sensors that, if harnessed correctly, can be used to accurately measure neurological conditions. Our mission is to revolutionise the monitoring and management of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and dementia, leveraging a decade of research from the University of Oxford.
The Neu Health solution includes a prescribed app that utilises smartphone sensors to objectively measure various symptoms remotely, including voice, balance, walking, finger dexterity, reaction time, tremor, and cognition. Non-motor symptoms and medication adherence data are also collected, and these data become immediately available to the patient’s clinical team via an online dashboard. This provides a comprehensive and longitudinal view of a patient’s condition outside the clinic environment.
Because of the data science that underpins our technology, we can also use artificial intelligence to predict future clinical outcomes, such as falls or other clinical scores, up to 18 months in advance. This allows clinicians to take proactive and preventative steps which can improve care and clinical outcomes.
Neu Health is already being used within the NHS. We are working with 3 hospitals at present to support over 250 individuals with Parkinson’s. So far, over 130,000 digital measurements have been gathered and real-life impact has been demonstrated. East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has shown excellent outcomes within the first 6 months of its use. This infographic shows some of the data highlights:
By capturing data continuously, our ambition is to provide clinicians with a detailed view of a person’s condition, enhancing personalised management and care quality. Patients will also be empowered through educational content and medication reminders.
As the UK population grows older, smartphone use will become even more widespread, meaning the Neu Health technology will continue to benefit an increasing number of individuals. While our work is only just beginning, the impact of digital technology on personalised care is evident and we aim to build on this and further improve care, clinical outcomes and enable those with Parkinson's to continue to lead extraordinary lives.
Dr Kinan Muhammed
Consultant Neurologist, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Neu Health
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