Smartphones Match Traditional Methods In Monitoring Patients With Muscular Dystrophy

Stanford Medicine researchers recovered that a smartphone could show patients pinch 2 types of muscular dystrophy arsenic good arsenic accepted methods and diagnose conditions much accurately — astatine nary cost.

Because researchers person made specified striking advancement successful processing narcotics to dainty neuromuscular diseases, Scott Delp, PhD, was amazed to study that scientists conducting objective tests were still relying connected a decidedly low-tech instrumentality to way whether those treatments were working: a stopwatch.

In a study published successful the New England Journal of Medicine, Delp, a professor of bioengineering, and his collaborators showed that a smartphone could do nan occupation arsenic good aliases better. With 2 smartphone cameras and a free app, they were capable to replicate results from modular activity tests for 2 neuromuscular diseases and seizure much item astir patients' beingness abilities.

"Our extremity was to bring nan world's astir blase biomechanical modeling and machine imagination to carnivore successful bid to lucifer what's happening connected nan supplier improvement side," Delp said.

Delp is nan elder writer of nan study. Parker Ruth, a doctoral student successful machine subject astatine Stanford University, is nan lead author.

Clinicians typically usage a stopwatch to seizure really agelong it takes group pinch movement-related conditions to complete circumstantial tasks, specified arsenic opinionated up from a chair aliases stepping 10 meters. Known arsenic a timed usability test, this method is speedy and inexpensive, but it can't observe subtle changes successful really patients move, particularly successful diseases that advancement slowly.

For a much elaborate view, patients request to sojourn a mobility study lab, wherever hourslong biomechanical assessments require highly trained technicians and instrumentality that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. "The position quo is that very fewer group tin person their mobility measured, and this is seldom utilized clinically - usually betwixt zero and erstwhile successful a person's lifetime," Delp said.

To trial whether mobile phones could do nan job, Delp and his collaborators utilized up to 3 smartphone cameras to grounds astir 130 group arsenic they performed 9 movements, specified arsenic a 10-meter tally and calf raise. Two-thirds of participants had a neuromuscular illness - facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) aliases myotonic dystrophy (DM) - while nan remainder had nary diagnosed activity problems. At nan aforesaid time, objective evaluators performed 4 accepted timed usability tests. The process took an mean of conscionable 16 minutes.

Researchers converted nan videos into 3D models utilizing OpenCap, an open-source instrumentality that Delp and his squad astatine Stanford released successful 2023. The package automatically created a "digital twin" of each participant, allowing nan squad to measurement scope of motion, stride length, velocity and different aspects of movement. Researchers past translated nan information into 34 features of activity that are applicable to FSHD and DM, specified arsenic really precocious patients assistance their ankles while walking.

Based connected nan smartphone data, researchers inferred astir identical clip scores to those measured pinch a stopwatch. When a subset of participants repeated nan tests nan adjacent day, nan smartphone strategy proved conscionable arsenic reliable. "With conscionable a video, you tin reproduce what an knowledgeable and engaged clinician would do successful a clinic," Delp said.

A amended diagnostic tool

The videos besides revealed disease-specific activity patterns that timed tests can't capture. For example, group pinch FSHD took shorter strides and lifted their ankles higher while walking, while those pinch DM had much trouble rising from a chair. Based connected nan footage, a machine exemplary could place nan illness a personification had pinch 82% accuracy, compared pinch 50% accuracy for nan stopwatch method.

The findings propose that analyses erstwhile confined to specialized labs tin now beryllium done quickly, anyplace and for free.

"It's really encouraging," Delp said. "By democratizing entree pinch smartphone videos, we deliberation we'll beryllium capable to observe activity disorders for free successful nan community. We tin observe diseases earlier truthful patients tin activity curen sooner aliases participate successful supplier tests earlier."

Delp and his squad person begun examining really devices for illustration OpenCap tin beryllium incorporated into objective trials. His dream is that this attack will make measurements of therapies for neuromuscular diseases much precise, accessible and easy to implement. "We'll person much blase measures to spot if therapies are working," he said.

In nan meantime, thousands of labs astir nan world are already utilizing OpenCap to measure conditions specified arsenic cerebral palsy and arthritis. Germany's nationalist volleyball team, for example, utilized nan instrumentality to measure sports injuries successful 160 athletes. "It utilized to return them years to get that benignant of data, and pinch OpenCap they did it successful 1 season," Delp said. "They're gaining penetration into really they tin execute better, debar wounded and amended faster."

Delp emphasizes that further investigation is needed to guarantee nan tool's accuracy for each caller application. Still, he believes nan exertion represents nan early of really doctors diagnose and way activity disorders. "This method of accurately and quickly assessing activity is connected nan verge of transforming aggregate fields," he said.

Scott Uhlrich, who earned a PhD astatine Stanford University and is now adjunct professor astatine nan University of Utah, is besides a first writer connected nan study. Stanford Medicine's John Day, MD, PhD, professor of neurology, and investigation intelligence Tina Duong, PhD, and their squad besides played a awesome domiciled successful nan study.

Funding came from nan Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance; nan Mobilize Center astatine Stanford University; and nan Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation, which played nary domiciled successful nan study creation aliases analysis.