A group of experts belonging to the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) developed a radar that helps detect the first symptoms associated with Parkinson.
Thanks to the technology of this device, the doctors They can perceive clues in healthy people, which would allow early treatment to begin.
He device It works through the emission of radio waves that are then analyzed by a software and compared with records of patients suffering from the disease.
These are the radars that detect early signs of Parkinson’s
Within the framework of a project funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, and in collaboration with the Neurology Service of the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital, researchers from the Higher Technical School of Telecommunications Engineers (ETSIT) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid they developed a radar capable of extracting biomarkers of gait related to Parkinson’s.
This makes it possible to identify motor alterations characteristic of the disease, even in early stages.
The devices, which They measure only between 5 and 15 centimeters and have a lower cost than 150 euros, They analyze the way patients walk in a particularly comfortable way, since they do not require the person to wear body sensors, which can be uncomfortable or even involuntarily modify natural gait.
The new radars are not placed on the person, but rather the person walks freely through a certain area and the device is placed near them.
They work with reflected radio waves, that analyze gait from a certain distance: depending on the setup, they can capture movement from several meters away.
During the development of the project it has been proven that the radars designed achieve a precision comparable to that of infrared cameras, currently considered the most advanced technology for gait analysis. What’s more: these have the advantage of allowing a much faster and cheaper analysis.
Currently, the devices are being used at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital to analyze the gait of patients with already diagnosed Parkinson’s, but also that of people with a high probability of developing the disease in the coming years. Preliminary results indicate that It is possible to detect alterations in gait that would allow the diagnosis to be made earlier.
Looking to the future, the researchers plan to combine the data captured by these radars with artificial intelligence systems, with the aim of further improving early detection and supporting clinical diagnosis.
How do radars work?
The disease of Parkinson It affects the nervous system of people years before they appear symptoms clear.
Among the first changes that usually appear are slightly shorter steps, variation in walking speed and asymmetry between both legs.
Radar, unlike a doctor’s eye, has the ability to register the first micro-variations in these aspects.
It sends low-power radio waves toward the person walking and then analyzes how these change when they bounce off the human body.
The signal that returns is not exactly the same as the one that came out, as it changes its frequency and pattern slightly due to movement. This phenomenon is called the Doppler effect.
The radar records the changes that occur in the waves and a software reconstructs the variations that indicate possible Parkinson’s symptoms. Then, if it is an undiagnosed person, researchers compare those patterns with those of sick patients.
By comparing, they are able to precisely determine whether the biomarkers that appear, which may include less swinging of the arms, small asymmetries between the legs or very subtle changes in walking rhythm, are indicative that the person may have Parkinson.
