The StrivePD watch app helps patients between doctor’s visits in the pilot project

App-based consumer technology like Rune Labs’ StrivePD can help people with Parkinson’s disease feel more confident in managing their symptoms and bridge the specialty care gap through continuous monitoring, according to results of a pilot program developed in collaboration with Kaiser Permanent was carried out.

Patients in the program used the app on an Apple Watch to record their daily activities to better track their symptoms. They saw a 42% decrease in emergency room visits and an 18% decrease in movement disorder specialist visit rates.

Better tracking allows doctors to identify warning signs early, reducing the need for emergency care. For patients, participating in the pilot program also meant they spent more time training and were more adherent to their medication regimens.

“Through a tailored approach based on ongoing patient-specific data, we have seen significant improvements in symptom management,” Ro’ee Gilron, PhD, lead neuroscientist at Rune Labs, said in a company press release.

The data was presented in a scientific poster: “Unlocking the Capacity of Movement Disorders and Risk Reduction Specialists: a Platform Solution to Reduce Costs and Optimize Care for Parkinson’s Disease,” at the International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, held September 27-October. 1 in Philadelphia.

AI creates reports for doctors

The company recently launched StrivePD-AI, an in-app feature that uses artificial intelligence to generate monthly reports based on data from motion sensors built into the Apple Watch to address Parkinson’s motor symptoms monitor and give doctors access to data outside of clinic visits.

“I can approach each patient session with a much more comprehensive understanding of the disease progression,” said Dr. Suketu Khandhar, a neurologist at Kaiser Permanente’s Sacramento Medical Center. “Patients also feel more confident in managing their symptoms, which has led to increased exercise and better health outcomes.”

This approach could bring “promising and impactful benefits for patients, caregivers and clinicians,” Gilron said.

Although more people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year, not everyone has easy access to healthcare. Patients may live far from specialists, cannot afford treatment, or face other barriers that make it difficult for them to get the care they need.

“The limited supply of specialty Parkinson’s treatments worldwide limits access to advanced therapies and correlates with higher symptom burden and poorer health outcomes,” the researchers write.

The nine-month pilot program involved 138 Parkinson’s patients aged 39 to 88 years enrolled at Kaiser Permanente in California. All had moderate disease with an average duration of six years. Her illness affected both sides of her body and responded to levodopa, a main treatment for Parkinson’s.

All patients used Apple Watch to record their behavior for at least six hours, seven days a week. They engaged with the app at least once a week. In total, over 211,000 hours of data were collected.

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Data analysis

“Consumer technologies can help patients, caregivers and physicians better understand the patterns and triggers of this complex disease,” said Brian Pepin, CEO of Rune Labs. “There has never been a shortage of data [Parkinson’s]. The big obstacle has been collecting, analyzing and making use of this data at scale, and this program has achieved exactly that.”

Data analysis revealed a reduction in both emergency department visits and time spent by movement disorder specialists. Ninety percent of patients increased their physical activity, with 52% exercising more than 150 minutes per week.

Patients also received better insight into their health: 78% said it helped their doctors better understand their disease. Medication adherence improved in 80% of patients and engagement with the AI ​​feature was high, with patients providing detailed notes the length of a novel and a half.

“A few months ago I thought I needed more visits to my doctor, but now StrivePD has helped me learn a lot more about how I’m doing on a day-to-day basis, so I now feel like my visit frequency is up to par is, is fine. said Keith Narasaki, a Parkinson’s patient from the San Francisco area. “StrivePD has provided me with important information in my treatment about how to manage my illness [Parkinson’s] Symptoms. It helped me quantify how and when to optimize my benefits [on] Time and try to stay functional during my free time.”

“On-time” refers to periods when levodopa is sufficiently effective and symptoms are under control, while “on-time” periods are times when the effects of the drug wear off and symptoms return or worsen.

“Patients reported value from the personalized reports and educational content that increased confidence in disease management outside of the doctor’s office and encouraged communication with physicians during clinical visits,” the researchers wrote.