Using artificial intelligence, a pen identifies Parkinson's through writing

According to the specialized website Medline Plus, Parkinson's disease is a type of movement disorder. This condition occurs when neurons don't produce enough dopamine. Although symptoms begin slowly, usually on one side of the body, the other side is later affected.

Some signs are: tremors in the hands, arms, legs, jaw and face , as well as stiffness in the extremities, slowness of movement and problems with balance and coordination.

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) have developed a pen using ferrofluid, an ink containing tiny magnetic particles. When writing, the ink moves and generates electrical signals that can be analyzed by artificial intelligence.

The study's lead researcher, Jun Chen, and his team recruited 16 people for their project: 3 of them had Parkinson's patients and 13 did not, with an equal distribution by sex.

Participants completed easy writing tasks such as drawing wavy lines to ensure that they would not be difficult for people with reading difficulties or non-native speakers.

The pen recorded electrical signals from the writing movements of the participants , and they found that, in those with the disease, smaller spikes appeared associated with motor irregularities.

A neural network then distinguished between people who had the disease and those who did not with an average accuracy of 96.22 percent.

Traditionally, since most differential symptoms include limb tremors, the traditional diagnosis was made by medical observation of the patient's abilities.

Now, this new system makes it possible to determine whether a person has the condition in low-income areas. This is because its manufacture relies on 3D printing and is made with low-cost materials.

In fact, access to specialized healthcare personnel in these regions is very low, with an insufficient number of neurologists (between 0.003 and 0.3 per 100,000 inhabitants). This finding is especially beneficial for untreated individuals who are not yet recognized as potential patients, according to the study.

Furthermore, by generating electricity with its magnetoelastic tip and ferrofluid ink, this device does not require external power to operate.

The reason for this phenomenon lies in the electromagnetic field. When its tip is pressed or the ferrofluid inside is moved, the magnetic flux is altered.

These changes or modifications are received by coils capable of inducing electrical voltage that can be analyzed according to what scientists call Faraday's law of induction.

Ultimately, this pen could offer an innovative way to complement existing methods for diagnosing this disease and facilitate early detection.

However, the authors note that further studies are still needed to fully exploit the device's potential in the progression of Parkinson's disease at its various stages.

*WITH INFORMATION FROM SINC AGENCY