Skip to main content
Log in

Objective Assessment of Bradykinesia Estimated from the Wrist Extension in Older Adults and Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

  • Published:
Annals of Biomedical Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) presents several motor signs, including tremor and bradykinesia. However, these signs can also be found in other motor disorders and in neurologically healthy older adults. The incidence of bradykinesia in PD is relatively high in all stages of the disorder, even when compared to tremor. Thus, this research proposes an objective assessment of bradykinesia in patients with PD (G PD: 15 older adults with Parkinson’s disease, 65.3 ± 9.1 years) and older adults (G HV: 12 healthy older adults, 60.1 ± 6.1 years). The severity of bradykinesia in the participants of G PD was assessed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Movement and muscular activity were detected by means of inertial (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) and electromyographic sensors while the participants performed wrist extension against gravity with the forearm on pronation. Mean and standard error of inertial and electromyographic signal parameters could discriminate PD patients from healthy older adults (p value <0.05). In discriminating patients with PD from healthy older adults, the mean sensitivity and specificity were respectively 86.67 and 83.33%. The discrimination between the groups, based on the objective evaluation of bradykinesia, may contribute to the accurate diagnosis of PD and to the monitoring of therapies to control parkinsonian bradykinesia, and opens the possibility for further comparative studies considering individuals suffering from other motor disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. UPDRS Item 24 Hand Movements: patient opens and closes hands in rapid succession. UPDRS Item 25 Rapid Alternating Movements of Hands: pronation-supination movements of hands, vertically and horizontally, with as large an amplitude as possible, both hands simultaneously.

References

  1. Baldissera, F., P. Cavallari, G. Marini, and G. Tassone. Differential control of in-phase and anti-phase coupling of rhythmic movements of ipsilateral hand and foot. Exp. Brain Res. 83:375–380, 1991.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Beeler, J. A., T. Shiner, B. Seymour, M. Symmonds, P. Dayan, K. P. Bhatia, and R. J. Dolan. The effect of motivation on movement: a study of bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease. PLoS ONE 7:e47138, 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bennett, D. A., L. A. Beckett, A. M. Murray, K. M. Shannon, C. G. Goetz, D. M. Pilgrim, and D. A. Evans. Prevalence of parkinsonian signs and associated mortality in a community population of older people. N. Engl. J. Med. 334:71–76, 1996.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Biswas, D., A. Cranny, N. Gupta, K. Maharatna, J. Achner, J. Klemke, M. Jöbges, and S. Ortmann. Recognizing upper limb movements with wrist worn inertial sensors using k-means clustering classification. Hum. Mov. Sci. 40:59–76, 2015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bloem, B. R., D. J. Beckley, J. G. van Dijk, A. H. Zwinderman, M. P. Remler, and R. A. C. Roos. Influence of dopaminergic medication on automatic postural responses and balance impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Mov. Disord. 11:509–521, 1996.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Buchman, A. S., R. S. Wilson, J. M. Shulman, S. E. Leurgans, J. A. Schneider, and D. A. Bennett. Parkinsonism in older adults and its association with adverse health outcomes and neuropathology. J Gerontol A 71:549–556, 2016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Cover, T., and P. Hart. Nearest neighbor pattern classification. IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory 13:21–27, 1967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Dai H. and L. T. D’Angelo. A portable system for quantitative assessment of parkinsonian bradykinesia during deep-brain stimulation surgery. In: 2013 2nd International Conference on Advances in Biomedical Engineering (ICABME), p. 77–80, 2013.

  9. Dai, H., H. Lin, and T. C. Lueth. Quantitative assessment of parkinsonian bradykinesia based on an inertial measurement unit. BioMed. Eng. OnLine 14:1–13, 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dai, H., B. Otten, J. H. Mehrkens, L. T. D. Angelo, and T. C. Lueth. A novel glove monitoring system used to quantify neurological symptoms during deep-brain stimulation surgery. IEEE Sens. J. 13:3193–3202, 2013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Dai, H., P. Zhang, and T. Lueth. Quantitative assessment of parkinsonian tremor based on an inertial measurement unit. Sensors 15:25055–25071, 2015.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Davis, K. L., H. M. Edin, and J. K. Allen. Prevalence and cost of medication nonadherence in Parkinson’s disease: evidence from administrative claims data. Mov. Disord. 25:474–480, 2010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Espay, A. J., P. Bonato, F. B. Nahab, W. Maetzler, J. M. Dean, J. Klucken, B. M. Eskofier, A. Merola, F. Horak, A. E. Lang, R. Reilmann, J. Giuffrida, A. Nieuwboer, M. Horne, M. A. Little, I. Litvan, T. Simuni, E. R. Dorsey, M. A. Burack, K. Kubota, A. Kamondi, C. Godinho, J.-F. Daneault, G. Mitsi, L. Krinke, J. M. Hausdorff, B. R. Bloem, and S. Papapetropoulos. Technology in Parkinson’s disease: challenges and opportunities. Mov. Disord. 31:1272–1282, 2016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Giuffrida, J., and E. Rapp. Ambulatory and remote monitoring of Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms. In: Healthcare sensor networks—challenges toward practical implementation, edited by R. Lai, D. T. H. Palaniswami, and M. Begg. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2011, pp. 247–282.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. Goetz, C. G., B. C. Tilley, S. R. Shaftman, G. T. Stebbins, S. Fahn, P. Martinez-Martin, W. Poewe, C. Sampaio, M. B. Stern, R. Dodel, B. Dubois, R. Holloway, J. Jankovic, J. Kulisevsky, A. E. Lang, A. Lees, S. Leurgans, P. A. LeWitt, D. Nyenhuis, C. W. Olanow, O. Rascol, A. Schrag, J. A. Teresi, J. J. van Hilten, N. LaPelle, and U. R. T. F. Movement Disorder Society. Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS): scale presentation and clinimetric testing results. Mov. Disord. 23:2129–2170, 2008.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Heldman, D. A., J. P. Giuffrida, R. Chen, M. Payne, F. Mazzella, A. P. Duker, A. Sahay, S. J. Kim, F. J. Revilla, and A. J. Espay. The modified bradykinesia rating scale for Parkinson’s disease: reliability and comparison with kinematic measures. Mov. Disord. 26:1859–1863, 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Hindle, J. V. Ageing, neurodegeneration and Parkinson’s disease. Age Ageing 39:156–161, 2010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Johnson, M. T. V., A. N. Kipnis, M. C. Lee, R. B. Loewenson, and T. J. Ebner. Modulation of the stretch reflex during volitional sinusoidal tracking in Parkinson’s disease. Brain 114:443–460, 1991.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Jun, J.-H., J.-W. Kim, Y. Kwon, G.-M. Eom, S.-B. Koh, B. Lee, H.-S. Kim, J.-H. Yi, and G.-R. Tack. Quantification of limb Bradykinesia in patients with Parkinson’ s disease using a gyrosensor—improvement and validation. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 12:557–563, 2011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kempster, P. A., B. Hurwitz, and A. J. Lees. A new look at James Parkinson’s essay on the shaking palsy. Neurology 69:482–485, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Kim, J. W., J. H. Lee, Y. Kwon, C. S. Kim, G. M. Eom, S. B. Koh, D. Y. Kwon, and K. W. Park. Quantification of bradykinesia during clinical finger taps using a gyrosensor in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Med. Biol. Eng. Comput. 49:365–371, 2011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. LeMoyne R., C. Coroian, and T. Mastroianni. Quantification of Parkinson’s disease characteristics using wireless accelerometers. In: 2009 IEEE/ICME International Conference on Complex Medical Engineering, pp. 1–5, 2009.

  23. Machado, A. R. P., H. C. Zaidan, A. P. S. Paixão, et al. Feature visualization and classifiation for the discrimination between individuals with Parkinson’s disease under levodopa and DBS treatments. BioMed. Eng. OnLine 15:169, 2016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Maetzler, W., R. P. Hubble, G. A. Naughton, P. A. Silburn, and M. H. Cole. Wearable sensor use for assessing standing balance and walking stability in people with Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review. PLoS ONE 10:e0123705, 2015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Martinez-Manzanera, O., E. Roosma, M. Beudel, R. W. K. Borgemeester, T. V. Laar, and N. M. Maurits. A method for automatic and objective scoring of bradykinesia using orientation sensors and classification algorithms. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 63:1016–1024, 2016.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Martinez-Martin, P., A. Gil-Nagel, L. M. Gracia, J. Balseiro-Gomez, J. Martinez-Sarries, F. Bermejo, M. C. Jimenez-Rojas, E. Maranon, J. M. Grau Veciana, C. Roig Arnall, O. Bruna, C. Junque Plaja, S. Gimenez Roldan, and J. A. Burguera. Unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale characteristics and structure. Mov. Disord. 9:76–83, 1994.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Matsushita, N., Y. Handa, M. Ichie, and N. Hoshimiya. Electromyogram analysis and electrical stimulation control of paralysed wrist and hand. J. Electromyogr. Kinesiol. 5:117–128, 1995.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Mentzel, T. Q., C. L. Mentzel, S. V. Mentzel, R. Lieverse, H. A. M. Daanen, and P. N. V. Harten. Instrumental assessment of Bradykinesia: a comparison between motor tasks. IEEE J. Biomed. Health Inf. 20:521–526, 2016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Moro, E., M. Scerrati, L. M. Romito, R. Roselli, P. Tonali, and A. Albanese. Chronic subthalamic nucleus stimulation reduces medication requirements in Parkinson’s disease. Neurology 53:85–90, 1999.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Niazmand K., K. Tonn, A. Kalaras, U. M. Fietzek, J. H. Mehrkens, and T. C. Lueth. Quantitative evaluation of Parkinson’s disease using sensor based smart Glove. In: 24th international symposium on computer-based medical systems. 978-971-4577-1189-4573, 2011.

  31. Ramaker, C., J. Marinus, A. M. Stiggelbout, and B. J. V. Hilten. Systematic evaluation of rating scales for impairment and disability in Parkinson’ s disease. Mov. Disord. Soc. 17:867–876, 2002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Rizzo, G., M. Copetti, S. Arcuti, D. Martino, A. Fontana, and G. Logroscino. Accuracy of clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurology 86:566–576, 2016.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Rosano, C., D. A. Bennett, A. B. Newman, V. Venkatraman, K. Yaffe, T. Harris, S. Kritchevsky, and H. J. Aizenstein. Patterns of focal gray matter atrophy are associated with bradykinesia and gait disturbances in older adults. J. Gerontol. A 67:957–962, 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Salarian A., H. Russmann, F. J. G. Vingerhoets, P. R. Burkhard, Y. Blanc, C. Dehollain, and K. Aminian. An ambulatory system to quantify bradykinesia and tremor in Parkinson’s disease. In: 4th annual IEEE conference on information technology applications in biomedicine, pp. 35–38, 2003.

  35. Salarian, A., H. Russmann, F. J. G. Vingerhoets, C. Dehollain, Y. Blanc, P. R. Burkhard, and K. Aminian. Gait assessment in Parkinson’s disease: toward an ambulatory system for long-term monitoring. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 51:1434–1443, 2004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Salarian, A., H. Russmann, C. Wider, P. R. Burkhard, F. J. Vingerhoets, and K. Aminian. Quantification of tremor and bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease using a novel ambulatory monitoring system. IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. 54:313–322, 2007.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Trojaniello, D., A. Cereatti, E. Pelosin, L. Avanzino, A. Mirelman, J. M. Hausdorff, and U. Della Croce. Estimation of step-by-step spatio-temporal parameters of normal and impaired gait using shank-mounted magneto-inertial sensors: application to elderly, hemiparetic, parkinsonian and choreic gait. J. NeuroEng. Rehab. 11:152, 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Vrana, K. E., A. J. Noyce, A. Nagy, S. Acharya, S. Hadavi, J. P. Bestwick, J. Fearnley, A. J. Lees, and G. Giovannoni. Bradykinesia-Akinesia incoordination test: validating an online keyboard test of upper limb function. PLoS ONE 9:e96260, 2014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Yang, K., W.-X. Xiong, F.-T. Liu, Y.-M. Sun, S. Luo, Z.-T. Ding, J.-J. Wu, and J. Wang. Objective and quantitative assessment of motor function in Parkinson’s disease—from the perspective of practical applications. Ann. Transl. Med. 4:90, 2016.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Yokoe, M., R. Okuno, T. Hamasaki, Y. Kurachi, K. Akazawa, and S. Sakoda. Opening velocity, a novel parameter, for finger tapping test in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. 15:440–444, 2009.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The present work was carried out with the support the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Coordination of Improvement of Higher Level Personnel (CAPES), Foundation for Research Support of the State of Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) and Foundation for Research Support of the State of Goiás (FAPEG). A. O. Andrade is a Fellow of CNPq, Brazil (305223/2014-3). The authors are thankful to the patients of the Parkinson’s Disease Association of Triângulo (Associação Parkinson do Triângulo, Uberlândia, Brazil) for their participation in this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marcus Fraga Vieira.

Additional information

Associate Editor Leonidas D. Iasemidis oversaw the review of this article.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rabelo, A.G., Neves, L.P., Paixão, A.P.S. et al. Objective Assessment of Bradykinesia Estimated from the Wrist Extension in Older Adults and Patients with Parkinson’s Disease. Ann Biomed Eng 45, 2614–2625 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-017-1908-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-017-1908-3

Keywords

Navigation