WP 5:

Host: Institut für Mikro- und Informationstechnik

der Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft für angewandte Forschung e.V.

 

PI:
Martin Trächtler

Co-Worker:
Manuel Schwaab

Sensor system development and data interpretation

People with Parkinson's will wear specially designed sensor units on differents parts of the body to enable SENSE-PARK to monitor the symptoms of Parkinson's continously. The measurement unit consists of inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) with the sensor data recorded on a micro SD card. Once a day the recorded sensor data are read out and processed by a computer system to extract various Parkinson symptoms related parameters such as occurrence, strength and frequency of tremor, based on sensor data of the unit placed on the wrist. Additionally we are developing algorithms for akinesia, gait characteristics, the body motion during the sleep as well as the postural sway characteristics.

The first task of HSG-IMIT in this work package was to design a small sensor unit which records the sensor measurements during the day. The resulting unit along with the housing constructed for it can be seen in the upper left image. Currently we are developing the extraction algorithms to provide reliable and accurate information to a PwP concerning their condition and the progression of the disease. To achieve this we employ various signal processing techniques such as the Fourier transform as well as statistical methods. Finally, it is planned to validate the performance of the algorithms against the assessment provided by qualified neurologists.