PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Patients with Alzheimer\'s disease (AD) and AD related dementias (ADRD) often experience spatial disorientation that can lead to wandering behavior, characterized by aimless or purposeless movement. Wandering behavior has been associated with falls, caregiver burden, and nursing home placement. Despite the substantial clinical consequences of wandering, there is currently no standardized approach to objectively quantify wandering behavior. In this pilot feasibility study, we used a lightweight inertial sensor to examine mobility characteristics of a small group of 12 older adults with ADRD and mild cognitive impairment in their homes. Specifically, we evaluated their compliance with wearing a sensor for a minimum of 4 days. We also examined the ability of the sensor to measure turning frequency and direction changes, given that frequent turns and direction changes during walking have been observed in patients who wander. We found that all patients were able to wear the sensor yielding quantitative turn data including number of turns over time, mean turn duration, mean peak turn speed, and mean turn angle. We found that wanderers make more frequent, quicker turns compared to non-wanderers, which is consistent with pacing or lapping behavior. This study provides preliminary evidence that continuous monitoring in patients with dementia is feasible using a wearable sensor. More studies are needed to explore if objective measures of turning behaviors collected using inertial sensors can be used to identify wandering behavior.
摘要：
患有阿尔茨海默病（AD）和AD相关痴呆（ADRD）的患者经常经历空间定向障碍，这可能导致流浪行为，以无目的或无目的的运动为特征。流浪行为与跌倒有关，照顾者的负担，和养老院安置。尽管流浪带来了巨大的临床后果，目前没有客观量化流浪行为的标准化方法。在这个试点可行性研究中，我们使用轻量级惯性传感器检查了一小组12名患有ADRD和轻度认知障碍的老年人的行动特征.具体来说,我们评估了他们佩戴传感器至少4天的依从性.我们还检查了传感器测量转向频率和方向变化的能力，鉴于在行走过程中观察到频繁的转弯和方向变化。我们发现所有患者都能够佩戴传感器，从而产生定量的转弯数据，包括随着时间的推移转弯次数，平均转弯持续时间，平均峰值转弯速度，和平均转角。我们发现流浪者更频繁，与非流浪者相比，转弯更快，这与起搏或研磨行为一致。这项研究提供了初步证据，证明使用可穿戴传感器对痴呆症患者进行连续监测是可行的。需要更多的研究来探索使用惯性传感器收集的转弯行为的客观度量是否可以用于识别徘徊行为。
