How hard a person grabs something says a lot about their health. This is not new. The IBM labs have therefore designed a small connected object, linked to the strength of the grip, which makes it possible to monitor the health of the patient. This is a patch to stick on a fingernail that serves as a mini sensor and sends information directly to a smartphone or connected watch.
A connected patch to help understand Parkinson’s
His role ? Measure how your fingernails move, which indicates how strong your grip is. Studies have already shown that grip strength was indicative of many diseases. The effectiveness of the treatment against Parkinson’s can be detected in the strength of the hands, or even the cognitive functions in a schizophrenic patient. Our strength also reveals our cardiovascular health. The patch will measure this data live.
Initially, this project was born to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment against Parkinson’s and to change the quantities of medication if necessary. Since the effects of this disease are very much felt on the ability to control, the sensors had an obvious role. But their positioning on the skin posed problems of infection, because Parkinson’s patients are often older and their skin more fragile.
A very subtle connected nail
The sensor has therefore simply been moved to a more solid element of the human body: the nail. Connected via bluetooth to a smartphone or a connected watch, the mini sensor is made up of two measurement tools: on the one hand, it observes the movements and deformations of the nail which are indicative of grip strength. On the other hand, the device is equipped with an accelerometer which, for its part, is interested in the fluidity of the patient’s movement and the amplitude thereof.
The precision of the sensor makes it possible to analyze very subtle movements such as writing, and to detect the first signs of Parkinson’s. The researchers would like to decline this model of sensor to facilitate the communication of quadriplegics in the future.
Read also:
Parkinson’s disease: the responsible appendix?
Parkinson’s disease, 3 new leads
