FOLLOWING the introduction of a system by American scientists that diagnoses the disease by analyzing keyboard input patterns, researchers have also identified the presence of Parkinson's disease (PD) through subtle movements in handwriting.

Chen Jun, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and his research team said Tuesday that they succeeded in early diagnosis of PD using a pen with magnetic ink and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The research results were published in the international scientific journal Nature Chemical Engineering.

PD is a degenerative neurological disorder characterized by the reduction of dopamine nerve cells responsible for involuntary muscle movements, resulting in tremors in the hands and feet and a heavy gait. Approximately 10 million people are affected worldwide. The main drawback of diagnosing the disease has been that it relies on visual observation of the patient’s movements and tremors, leading to lower accuracy and consistency. In particular, low-income countries often have a low diagnostic rate due to a lack of specialized personnel.

The research team paid attention to the fact that writing requires intricate cooperation between the brain and hand. This cooperation is impaired in PD patients, leading to changes in their handwriting. The researchers first developed a pen containing magnetic ink. When writing, the pen tip is pressed or moves, changing the internal magnetic field, which allows them to collect data on subtle tremors, pressure, and movements of the hand during handwriting.

Subsequently, they conducted clinical trials with 16 participants, including three PD patients. While performing handwriting tasks like drawing waves and spirals and writing uppercase letters using the pen, they analyzed the data with AI, which was able to distinguish the subtle differences in handwriting between PD patients and the general population. The AI identified the presence of PD with an accuracy of over 95% through handwriting.

The research team stated, “The magnetic pen is inexpensive and portable, showing potential for effective use in areas with insufficient medical infrastructure. They also plan to expand experiments to more people and explore whether the pen can also track the progression of the disease. The magnetic ink pen can be mass-produced at a low cost using a 3D printer.

Previously, Chen’s research team developed an intelligent keyboard that can diagnose PD early using only the action of pressing keys in April. This method analyzes various data such as the time, pressure, and duration of hand movements while pressing keys. They reported that, based on experiments with actual PD patients and the general public, they were able to distinguish the disease with an accuracy of about 97%.

(SD-Agencies)