Parkinson's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes alterations in movements. It accounts to about 50,000 to 60,000 new diagnoses each year in the United States. Now, a group of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has devised an algorithm that can detect micro-fluctuations in the way a person types on a keyboard.
A simple typing test could potentially detect Parkinson's, a disease that usually gets diagnosed when it's already full blown. In people with this disease, their substancia nigra, a part of their brain, produces symptoms like tremors, slowing down of movements and alteration in motor functions including walking.
Ian Butterworth, one of the researchers said in a report by Mail Online, "The study is based on the premise that there might be hidden information in the way that we type."
"At the moment, pretty much all of the other information in typing is thrown out. We just pay attention to what keys are being pressed, not when or for how long," he added.
The keyboard can also determine typing skills of patients when they are unrested or lacking sleep and during the day when they are fully rested. Also, it determines the key hold time which can measure how long one key is pressed before the patient releases it.
To land to their findings, they tested it on 20 participants who were typing in a computer, Yahoo News reported. The participants were divided into two groups, one group working during the day and the other group finished the same work at night.
Another researcher Alvaro Sanchez-Ferro said, "We thought this was a unique opportunity to have a window into the brain using your normal interactions with an electronic device."
He added, "You already have the hardware. You just have to let someone evaluate the information you collect every day when you use the device, and try to pull it out for health-related purposes."
The study mainly focused on the effects of fatigue but can also diagnose Parkinson's disease because it impairs motor function. Early diagnosis is the key to early treatment.
