Research: Magnetic Ink Pen Detects Parkinson's from Handwriting

A pen loaded with magnetic ink can be used for early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease , according to a study published in Nature Chemical Engineering and conducted at the University of Los Angeles. Analysis of data collected by the device, performed with an artificial intelligence program, can identify differences in the handwriting of people with the disease and could potentially allow for earlier diagnosis. Parkinson's disease, the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease, is estimated to affect nearly 10 million people worldwide . Parkinson's disease is also the fastest growing neurodegenerative disease in the world and is believed to be underdiagnosed in low- and middle-income countries, partly due to a shortage of medical specialists trained to diagnose the disease in these countries. Because symptoms of the disease include tremors, diagnosis is typically based on observation of the patient's motor skills. However, this method lacks objective diagnostic standards . Led by Jun Chen , the team developed an approach to diagnose Parkinson’s disease from handwriting notes taken with a pen containing magnetic ink. By converting the writing-induced movements of the magnetic ink into electrical signals, the authors show that with the help of artificial intelligence software , they can successfully distinguish the handwriting of patients with Parkinson’s disease from that of people without the disease with greater than 95% accuracy. This diagnostic pen could represent a low-cost, accurate and widely deployable technology, with the potential to improve the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in large populations and in areas with limited resources. The next step will be to extend the study of the tool to larger patient samples and also explore the potential of the tool to monitor the progression of Parkinson’s disease stages in people who already have a clear diagnosis.