Using a mobile app called Neurokeys, researchers have been able to use typing speed to detect disease progression in people with multiple sclerosis.
-1605701726.jpg "You can assess the progression of multiple sclerosis by tapping on a smartphone")
- By analyzing the typing speed on a phone through an application, it is possible to see the evolution of the disease.
- Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease that destroys the myelin sheaths, insulating it around neurons.
- The destruction of these insulators leads to a slowing down of the exchange of information between the brain and the body, and therefore, to a progressive slowing down of movements.
Our phone is more useful than we think for monitoring our health. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) have developed a method to measure the progression of multiple sclerosis using an application that analyzes typing speed on a touch phone. The study was published online in Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science November 12, 2020.
A mobile application dedicated to patients
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. It leads to a degradation of the myelin sheath, insulating it around the axons which connect the neurons between them. When the myelin sheath is damaged, it slows down the transmission of electrical information between neurons, which also slows down information going from the brain to the rest of the body. This disease, which affects twice as many women as men, affects more than 100,000 people in France and 2.3 million people worldwide.
Based on the observation that multiple sclerosis slows nerve information between the body and the brain, researchers decided to use the speed of typing a message on a touch screen to measure the progression of the disease. To do this, they analyze the typing speed, the latency time between each letter typed, as well as the number of mistakes made and corrected.
For their study, they called on people with and without multiple sclerosis, aged between 18 and 65 years old. For twelve months, thanks to a mobile application, called Neurokeys, embedded on the phones of the participants, they were able to observe changes in patients compared to people who do not have multiple sclerosis.
Better monitoring of the disease on a daily basis
“Clinically relevant changes in stroke dynamics can be considered early warning signals for changes in the patient’s disease activity before the change occurs.says James Twose, a data scientist in artificial intelligence at the University of Amsterdam. In chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, there is a worsening over time. When it comes to typing, you have to have all your faculties to do it well. This is where we notice people who have trouble with it.”
The best way to track the changes caused to the brain by multiple sclerosis is still with an MRI, which patients do every 3 to 12 months with their doctor. However, the researchers remain convinced that their method of continuous monitoring can help healthcare professionals predict when new changes in treatments are necessary.
Such a system could prove useful to people with chronic illnesses for several reasons. On the one hand, it would give a more complete picture of the evolution of the state of health of patients between two appointments. On the other hand, this would also make it easier for seriously ill patients, who may have difficulty moving around, being monitored remotely and therefore being able to change their treatment.
.
-1605701726.jpg&description=You+can+assess+the+progression+of+multiple+sclerosis+by+tapping+on+a+smartphone){kind=link}