Leveraging wearable technology for medical studies to improve the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders
Students: Jolanda Bolt, Vivien Laabs, Stefan Neuber, Peregrin Wahle, Erik Pruess
Supervisors: Annemarie Uhlig, Fatemeh Sardavar
Neurological disorders affect more than 3.4 billion people worldwide, making them one of the most common health challenges. Conditions such as dementia, migraine, and stroke significantly impact patients’ quality of life. Many factors influencing disease progression and well-being of the patients remain uncaptured during routine clinical visits.
Wearable sensors integrated into consumer devices, such as fitness bands and smartwatches, offer a promising solution. They enable continuous monitoring, provide real-time insights into daily life, and can improve patient engagement. However, clinical validation of these sensors and their data is still limited.
In collaboration with University Hospital Düsseldorf and Data4Life, this project aims to demonstrate that disease severity and progression can be quantified using longitudinal data from consumer-grade wearables combined with patient-reported outcomes. The project supports both retrospective and prospective data collection within a secure and compliant environment.
In this project, students will:
- Explore and analyze existing datasets from the Department of Neurology at University Hospital Düsseldorf, including data from patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and migraine. Potential analyses include artifact detection, correlations between wearable data patterns and clinical scores, and quality-of-life measures.
- Further develop SensorHub’s mobile applications and backend services to create a panel management system. This system will enable retrospective data collection, enhance patient engagement for future studies, and support additional data types securely and compliantly.