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06-30-2012, 09:26 PM | #1 | ||
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In my opinion being able to measure PD symptoms can help in managing your Parkinson's.
Ideally there would be a reasonably priced (<£20, say) piece of kit available that would do the job accurately. I don't know of anything. Given this, it's down to finding DIY solutions. My present need is to measure a particularly bad left hand tremor. It's more of a flap, eminating from my wrist and causing my whole arm to shake. My fingers are moving about 2 cm with a frequency of approximately 5.5 hz. I want to be able to measure the effect of a potential therapy. My tremor comes and goes pseudo-randomly. So, to get a reasonable comparison of before and after treatment values, I need each measurement to last many minutes and to be non-intrusive, letting me get on with life while the measurement is being taken. My previous attempt fails to do this because you need to keep your finger on a laptop's pressure pad while the measurement is being made. See: http://www.parkinsonsmeasurement.org/toolBox/tremor.htm A possible way forward is to use the latest generation of pedometers. These use accelerometer technology to count steps or, in our case, shakes. They cost about £10. They can come in credit card-like sizes, which can be attached to the hand. (Alternatively, ipods, and similar products have accelerometers and apps which use these.) The pedometer I have is almost up to the job, but: - it has a high threshold: responds to my bad left-hand tremor, but not to the smaller right-hand tremor; - it seems to max out at about 3 hz, so the count of the number of shakes is reduced, but consistent, one run with another; - it doesn't give the amplitude of the tremor (but I can estimate that separately). If you have a pedometer, I'd be grateful if you'd try it on your tremor and let us know the results. John
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Born 1955. Diagnosed PD 2005. Meds 2010-Nov 2016: Stalevo(75 mg) x 4, ropinirole xl 16 mg, rasagiline 1 mg Current meds: Stalevo(75 mg) x 5, ropinirole xl 8 mg, rasagiline 1 mg |
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