AI and wearable tech to improve clinical trial monitoring

The team has published two studies showing that by combining human movement data gathered from wearable tech with a new medical AI technology, they can identify clear movement patterns, predict future disease progression and increase the efficiency of clinical trials in two different disorders, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Friedreich’s ataxia (FA).

DMD and FA are rare, degenerative, genetic diseases that affect movement and eventually lead to paralysis. There are currently no cures for either disease, but researchers hope that these results will significantly speed up the search for new treatments.

Progression of FA and DMD is normally tracked through intensive testing in a clinical setting. According to the team, their papers offer a more precise assessment that also increases the accuracy and objectivity of the data collected.

The researchers estimate that using these disease markers mean that significantly fewer patients are required to develop a new drug when compared to current methods. This is particularly important for rare diseases where it can be hard to identify suitable patients.