AI technology to help monitor gait freezing in Parkinson’s trial
Study will test safety, efficacy of gamma sensory flicker in treating disease
Researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approach to track and measure freezing of gait (FOG), a common motor symptom of Parkinson’s disease.
The technology will be used in a clinical trial that’s testing the safety and preliminary efficacy of sound and light stimulation, known as gamma sensory flicker, as a therapeutic approach for Parkinson’s.
The study (NCT06295458), which is being conducted at Emory’s Movement Disorders Center, plans to enroll about two dozen participants with Parkinson’s disease, ages 50-75, who are stable on standard Parkinson’s medications.
“Our goal is not just to understand the biological basis of FOG, but also to explore potential preventive measures,” Stewart Factor, the study’s principal investigator, professor at Emory’s school of medicine, and director of its movement disorders program, said in a university news story. “By combining AI-driven analysis with sound and light therapies, we hope to mitigate the factors contributing to FOG and improve mobility and quality of life for our patients.”
In Parkinson’s, the loss of nerve cells that produce dopamine, a brain signaling chemical that’s important for motor control, leads to movement issues such as tremors, rigidity, and FOG, which is marked by brief and sudden pauses during walking, where a person feels like their feet are glued to the floor. This can impact the ability to move around independently and increases the risk of falls.
Tracking FOG in Parkinson’s
Standard Parkinson’s medications are aimed at boosting dopamine signaling, but don’t always help with FOG, which makes scientists think that mechanisms beyond dopamine deficiency contribute to it. Some data link the motor symptom to accumulating amyloid-beta protein, which is best recognized for its role in Alzheimer’s disease, but also builds up in Parkinson’s.
Gamma sensory flicker is a noninvasive approach initially tested for Alzheimer’s that’s premised on the idea that flickering sound and light stimulation at a certain frequency — 40 Hz — could help reset abnormal brain signaling patterns to ease disease symptoms. Research has shown that this flicker therapy can reduce amyloid levels.
Here, the Atlanta-based scientists are working on a clinical study to test the approach in Parkinson’s disease. The participants in the six-month study will be randomly assigned to receive the active sensory stimulation or a sham stimulation during daily, one-hour sessions. They’ll be trained to use the equipment, which includes light-emitting goggles and sound-emitting headphones, at home.
While its main goals are to monitor safety and treatment compliance, the study will also evaluate how the stimulation influences Parkinson’s symptoms and cognition after six months. Changes in amyloid levels in the spinal fluid will also be assessed.
The technology being developed by Emory and Georgia Tech researchers will help scientists monitor how the therapy impacts FOG.
Highly advanced motion capture technology will help collect detailed, real-time information about a person’s movement during motor tasks. An AI tool called ClassiFOG will then be used to automatically detect and measure the severity and frequency of FOG episodes.
“ClassiFOG’s AI-powered precision and consistency allow us to track the severity and frequency of FOG episodes with a level of detail that simply isn’t possible through human observation alone,” said Lucas Mckay, PhD, one of the study’s principal investigators, associate professor at Emory, and co-director of the Emory Brain Health Center Motion Capture Lab. “This enables us to detect subtle changes that might otherwise go unnoticed, crucial for evaluating treatment approaches and improving clinical trial outcomes.”
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