Technological support for people with Parkinson's disease: a narrative review

Background. Parkinson's disease resulting from the degeneration of specific areas of the brain, can cause severely disabling symptoms, such as freezing of gait. Freezing of gait increases the risk of falls through worsening of physical mobility, muscle stiffening, slow uncoordinated movements and often leads to hospitalization with significant worsening of quality of life for such patients. Indeed, older patients are at a significantly higher risk of negative outcomes related to PD. Objective. This work focuses on the most recent findings regarding non-invasive intervention and monitoring strategies to counteract the effects of freezing of gait. In addition, several devices can also provide support for diagnosis, treatment, and quality of daily life, especially in older patients with PD. Methods. This narrative review describes the current state of the art of devices based on cueing, monitoring and rehabilitation systems. Fifty-seven studies were selected. Results. Overall findings demonstrates that these smart devices can act as a valid aid tools able to: i) learn patient motor habits in order to intervene during a freezing of gait episode, ii) monitor daily conditions, iii) send and store data on disease progression, iv) provide useful information for rehabilitation programs in a clinical or home care environment. Conclusions. These technologies hold excellent prospects for patient treatment tailoring, especially in older patients in home care.