Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system attacks nerve fibres, leading to impairment of motor function and sensory perception in patients. Managing the disease varies from person to person, with physicians relying on patients to report their symptoms such as fatigue. However, these reports can be inaccurate and incomplete, impacting disease management. To address this issue, researchers from ETH Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich, and the University of Zurich conducted a study to investigate if fitness trackers and smartphones can provide reliable and long-term data on the health parameters of MS patients.
The study involved 55 MS patients and 24 control subjects who were provided with fitness tracking armbands and had their data collected over two weeks. The researchers found that physical activity and heart rate data collected from wearable devices were particularly meaningful indicators of disease severity and fatigue levels in MS patients. Those with higher disease severity and fatigue levels exhibited lower physical activity and heart rate variability compared to control subjects. Smartphone usage frequency also provided important information, with less smartphone usage linked to greater disability and severe fatigue levels in MS patients.
Insights into motor function were obtained through a game-like smartphone test developed at ETH, which examined tapping speed and frequency to assess motor skills and physical fatigue. By combining data from fitness trackers and smartphones relating to physiological, behavioral, motor performance, and sleep information, the researchers were able to accurately differentiate between healthy participants and those with MS. This approach offers MS patients a simple way to collect long-term data, potentially leading to more effective disease management and treatment decisions.
The researchers have made their dataset available to other scientists and emphasize the need for larger studies and more data to develop reliable models for automatic evaluation. By utilizing data from fitness trackers and smartphones, MS patients may experience improved quality of life, better treatments, and more effective disease management. This innovative approach has the potential to help experts make informed decisions about treatments and verify the effectiveness of different interventions, ultimately benefiting MS patients in the long run.
