Multi-parametric system for the continuous assessment and monitoring of motor status in Parkinson´s disease: An entropy-based gait comparison

A ldquoMulti-parametric system for the continuous assessment and monitoring of motor status in Parkinson´s diseaserdquo (PERFORM), is an FP7 project from the European Commission that aims at providing an innovative and reliable tool, able to evaluate, monitor and manage patients suffering from motor neurodegenerative diseases. The current work is related to a module of the project that is in charge of assessing PD patients during locomotion. These initial analyses of gait are based on analyses of sample entropy in the acceleration signals. Four PD patients are compared to four healthy using a set of five wireless sensors located in the limbs and in the trunk. A metric to assess the level of symmetry during locomotion, an important clinical feature, is proposed. Results show considerable differences between the patients and the subjects, both for sample entropy (in 3 of the 5 sensors) and in the gait asymmetry index (left vs. right limbs). Future work is proposed including age-matched subjects and a larger sample.