One of the many impacts of the COVID-19 lockdown earlier this year, has been the severe restrictions on mobility of both patients and the public. Furthermore, the ability to assess patients’ mobility has suffered as well because of the barriers created between researchers and participants.
Being able to remotely monitor patients’ mobility in their natural environment is a major advantage, both in lockdown and in general. To meet the societal need for better mobility assessment, Mobilise-D will follow up the ongoing technical validation study with a large-scale clinical study that will include 2400 patients from four different cohorts across different sites in Europe. The use of wearable digital technology allows clinicians, researchers and industry alike to measure and monitor real world mobility, including the home and the community, and detect mobility loss such as reduced walking speed.
One of the patient groups included in the Mobilise-D studies are people with Parkinson’s disease. In this group, mobility deficits can potentially occur up to five years before being diagnosed, says neurologist Prof. Dr. med. Walter Maetzler from Mobilise-D. The public experiences this as well:
“My mum, who’s eighty-seven, has got Parkinson’s disease, and that’s only been diagnosed in the last couple of years, after her having suffered mobility problems getting worse and worse for, probably, years.” – Anita
“In the Mobilise-D clinical validation study, participants will be asked to wear a small sensor on their back for up to nine consecutive days, to let us learn, assess and objectively measure mobility during daily, real world life,” says physiotherapist Dr. Stefanie Mikolaizak from Mobilise-D. Furthermore, in order to understand disease progression and mobility loss trajectory, we need more than a single assessment at only one point in time. This is why all participants will be invited back every six months, for a total of two years, to run through the same assessment and real world mobility measures.
The results from the Mobilise-D studies will provide valuable information for clinical practice, and help adults impacted by mobility loss receive personalised healthcare. And the public is aware of these benefits as well:
“If that was available, a small device that could track how I’m doing in my daily life, in terms of mobility, I think that would be really useful, and I think many people that I know would find that really useful.” – Eleanor
We see in our day-to-day lives that many people respond well to new technologies and health monitoring solutions. Therefore, “participating today can help shape the future of personalised mobility interventions tomorrow.” – Stefanie Mikolaizak.
Watch our new video below and stay tuned for more information about the Mobilise-D Clinical Study!
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