title: Body-Worn Sensors in Parkinson's Disease: Evaluating Their Acceptability to Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Remote monitoring of symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) using body-worn sensors would assist treatment decisions and evaluation of new treatments. To date, a rigorous, systematic evaluation of the acceptability of body-worn sensors in PD has not been undertaken.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-four participants wore bilateral wrist-worn sensors for 4 h in a research facility and then for 1 week at home. Participants' experiences of wearing the sensors were evaluated using a Likert-style questionnaire after each phase. Qualitative data were collected through free-text responses. Differences in responses between phases were assessed by using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Content analysis of qualitative data was undertaken. "Non-wear time" was estimated via analysis of accelerometer data for periods when sensors were stationary.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After prolonged wearing there was a negative shift in participants' views on the comfort of the sensor; problems with the sensor's strap were highlighted. However, accelerometer data demonstrated high patient concordance with wearing of the sensors. There was no evidence that participants were less likely to wear the sensors in public. Most participants preferred wearing the sensors to completing symptom diaries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The finding that participants were not less likely to wear the sensors in public provides reassurance regarding the ecological validity of the data captured. The validity of our findings was strengthened by "triangulation" of data sources, enabling patients to express their agenda and repeated assessment after prolonged wearing. Long-term monitoring with wrist-worn sensors is acceptable to this cohort of PD patients. Evaluation of the wearer's experience is critical to the development of remote monitoring technology.
authors.affiliation: 1 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Tyneside General Hospital , North Shields, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: 2 Culture Lab, School of Computing Science, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Nils Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Hammerla
authors.affiliation: 3 Clinical Ageing Research Unit, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rochester
authors.affiliation: 4 School of Computing and Mathematics, Keele University , Keele, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andras
authors.affiliation: 1 Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, North Tyneside General Hospital , North Shields, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
keywords: Parkinson's disease; body-worn sensors; home monitoring