Clinical Validity of the DANU Sports System for Gait and Balance Assessment in Parkinson's Disease

Methods:

Institutional ethics have been obtained (Project ID: 8543). Utilising an observational design, participants will be asked to attend one visit to Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Visit 1: Participants will complete a series of clinical and cognitive measures including the Movement Disorders Society's-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Freezing of Gait Questionnaire and Falls Efficacy Scale to act as descriptive measures. Following this, the investigators will conduct a concurrent data collection throughout a battery of motor tasks. The DANU system will be used alongside APDM Mobility Lab throughout the full duration of data collection. Mobility assessments include a 2-Minute Walk Test, 3 walkway trials, a Timed Up and Go and a series of 2-Minute Balance tasks.

Parkinson's Group Inclusion Criteria:- Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's by a movement disorder specialist according to UK brain bank criteria.

• PD stages I-III (Hoehn and Yahr Rating Scale)
• Able to attend Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne for study visits.
• Able to walk and stand unassisted for a minimum of 2-minutes.
• Aged 50 years old or over

Parkinson's Group Exclusion Criteria:

• History of neurological disorders other than PD (e.g., Huntington's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease etc.)
• Unable to walk or stand unaided.
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score < 21
• Significant issues unrelated to PD that may affect gait (e.g., musculoskeletal issues, back pain, recent surgery etc.)

Healthy Control Inclusion Criteria:

• Ability to attend Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne for study visits.
• Aged 50 years old or over.
• Able to walk and stand unassisted for a minimum of 2-minutes.

Healthy Control Exclusion Criteria:

• History of neurological disorders (e.g. Huntington's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease etc.)
• Significant issues that may affect walking (e.g., musculoskeletal issues, back pain, recent surgery etc.)