A movement monitoring system for patients of neurodegenerative diseases

Parkinson, Alzheimer, Koreas and motor neuron disease affect today millions of people. These neurodegenerative diseases act on central nervous system causing the loss of brain functions as well as motor disturbances and sometimes cognitive deficits. In such scenario, monitor early symptoms is mandatory. Here the authors describe the development of a monitoring system for Parkinson subjects and other patients affected by neurodegenerative diseases. The developed device is based on an array of four accelerometers connected to an embedded development board. This system is able to monitor tremor/movement, accidental falls and, moreover, it can track the Alzheimer subjects' geographical position. A remote supervisor can collect data from the system through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or GSM connections.