TY - GEN
T1 - Can a low-cost webcam be used for a remote neurological exam?
AU - Wood, Jeffrey
AU - Wallin, Mitchell
AU - Finkelstein, Joseph
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and axonal degenerative disease of the central nervous system. It is the most common progressive neurological disorder of young adults affecting over 1 million persons worldwide. Despite the increased use of neuroimaging and other tools to measure MS morbidity, the neurological examination remains the primary method to document relapses and progression in disease. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of using a low-cost webcam for remote neurological examination in home-setting for patients with MS. Using cross-over design, 20 MS patients were evaluated in-person and via remote televisit and results of the neurological evaluation were compared. Overall, we found that agreement between face-to-face and remote EDSS evaluation was sufficient to provide clinically valid information. Another important finding of this study was high acceptance of patients and their providers of using remote televisits for conducting neurological examinations at MS patient homes. The results of this study demonstrated potential of using low-cost webcams for remote neurological exam in patients with MS.
AB - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating and axonal degenerative disease of the central nervous system. It is the most common progressive neurological disorder of young adults affecting over 1 million persons worldwide. Despite the increased use of neuroimaging and other tools to measure MS morbidity, the neurological examination remains the primary method to document relapses and progression in disease. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility and validity of using a low-cost webcam for remote neurological examination in home-setting for patients with MS. Using cross-over design, 20 MS patients were evaluated in-person and via remote televisit and results of the neurological evaluation were compared. Overall, we found that agreement between face-to-face and remote EDSS evaluation was sufficient to provide clinically valid information. Another important finding of this study was high acceptance of patients and their providers of using remote televisits for conducting neurological examinations at MS patient homes. The results of this study demonstrated potential of using low-cost webcams for remote neurological exam in patients with MS.
KW - Physiological signal processing
KW - blood pressure
KW - personal health systems
KW - pulse transit time
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U2 - 10.3233/978-1-61499-276-9-30
DO - 10.3233/978-1-61499-276-9-30
M3 - Conference contribution
C2 - 23823365
AN - SCOPUS:84894256956
SN - 9781614992752
T3 - Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
SP - 30
EP - 32
BT - Informatics, Management and Technology in Healthcare
PB - IOS Press
T2 - International Conference on Informatics, Management, and Technology in Healthcare, ICIMTH 2013
Y2 - 5 July 2013 through 7 July 2013
ER -