BioSensics’ Huntington’s Disease remote monitor gains NIH grant

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/PAMSysMotionSensorWHITE.jpg” thumb_width=”125″ /]Watertown, Massachusetts-based BioSensics announced that the company has received a $2.5 million, two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a continuous remote monitor for Huntington’s disease motor symptoms. The HDWear monitor uses BioSensics’ PAMSys sensor technology tested during pilot work performed with the University of Rochester Medical Center and Teva Pharmaceuticals. The study, published in the Journal of Huntington’s Disease (2016, Vol. 5, pp. 199-206), demonstrated a wearable sensor solution for remotely monitoring the severity of upper extremity chorea in Huntington’s disease.

The study will also use the HDWear monitor for a clinical study on patient response to anti-chorea medication or subtle motor abnormalities in the premanifest stage of Huntington’s disease.

It is interesting that the press release uses ‘telecare’ for HDWear, which is not much used in the US for behavioral monitoring though perfectly correct. HDWear’s use here builds on the company’s earlier sensors-based systems for telehealth, physical activity monitoring, fall risk assessment and detection. This Editor notes that BioSensics is one of the older telehealth companies still operating (2007), and now is primarily using its devices in research studies. Drug Discovery & Development,  Release.  Hat tip to Guy Dewsbury via LinkedIn (again)