It can be found 7 years earlier that smartwatch 7-day exercise data can predict Parkinson's disease.

CTOnews.com, July 5 (Xinhua)-- smartwatches can predict Parkinson's disease in advance, according to a new study. The report points out that by collecting smartwatch movement data for seven days and using the AI model, Parkinson's disease can be detected as early as seven years before the onset of iconic symptoms and can be used as clinical diagnostic data.

In the new study, scientists believe that smartwatches can be used as a new screening tool for Parkinson's disease, not only at a lower cost, but also to detect the disease earlier than existing methods.

Bradykinesia, tremor, stiffness and imbalance affect cells in the brain called dopaminergic neurons, located in an area of the brain called substantia nigra, which is characterized by tremors, stiffness and slowness of movement.

By the time these iconic symptoms of Parkinson's disease begin to appear and clinical diagnosis can be made, more than half of the cells in the substantia nigra are dead.

Dr Cynthia Sandor, head of the study and emerging leader of the British dementia Institute at Cardiff University, said:

Smartwatch data is easy to access and low cost. By 2020, about 30 per cent of the UK population wore smartwatches. By using this type of data, it is possible to identify individuals in the early stages of Parkinson's disease in the general population.

The researchers collected and analyzed data on 103712 UK Biobank participants who wore medical-grade smartwatches for seven days between 2013 and 2016, mainly measuring movement speed and other information.

CTOnews.com attaches a link to the paper here, which interested users can click to read.