title: Chat-Bots for People with Parkinson's Disease: Science Fiction or Reality?
abstract: People with Parkinson's disease are known to have difficulties in language and communication. This paper proposes the use of an artificial conversational agent, commonly known as a chat-bot that runs on a smart-phone device and performs two-way conversation with the user. In this paper, initial work on a Parkinson's disease themed chat-bot that interacts with the user relative to their symptoms is presented. Potential dialogues are provided to illustrate the various roles chat-bots can play in the management of Parkinson's disease. The chat-bot can be used for measuring voice and communication outcomes during the daily life of the user, and for gaining information about challenges encountered. Moreover, it is anticipated that it may also have an educational and support role. The chat-bot is now ready for usability testing with a clinical population.
authors.affiliation: The Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Herston Brisbane.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.affiliation: Asia Pacific Center of Neuromodulation, University of Queensland, Herston Brisbane.
authors.forename: Jacki
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liddle
authors.affiliation: The Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Herston Brisbane.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.affiliation: The Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Herston Brisbane.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: The Australian E-Health Research Centre, CSIRO, Herston Brisbane.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knuepffer
mesh_terms: D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D007807:Language Tests; D009323:Natural Language Processing; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012660:Semantics; D000068997:Smartphone; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled