Week 9

Reviewing literature. Studies suggest that the prevalent method of assessing patients are qualitative, but there have been movements for more quantitative methods. The project will most likely utilise a quantitative version of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Also analysising other assessment tools and tests. Going to try and make a simple peg test program for practice.

Week 8: Initial Prototypes.

I've spent the past week developing basic prototype games to show the basic ideas for my games. Both will be testing tremor and movement strategies. However, accelerometer controls are still under development and only have touchscreen movement using sidebars.
The first game is a collection game of sort, where you move the ball over the block as fast as you can, having a bar showing score and time.
The second game consists of a ball in a maze, and the goal is to move it to the hole.
As I said, these are just simple prototypes, and I aim to develop both the visual and logical areas further; as well as the variety and viability. This week I plan to focus more on the accelerometer controls, having received an temporary ipod touch to test and develop with.
Also working on finalizing topic proposal.

Week 7: Analysis of Project Model

Posting this a bit late, but I spent much of last week considering different ways of representing data for my application. The ipad/iphone devices often have rigid memory constraints, and speed and efficiency is definitely important in making the best experience possible.
My program will most likely involve a maze setup. The maze has obstacles, which I have not decided will be whole objects or the combination of single squares. Currently experimenting with Core Graphics, making rectangles and such with triangles and vertice information. Researching the way objects are drawn as well, having curved objects is desired. Will most likely have to use OpenGL ES later, but it won't affect things until I have settled on a data model.
Regarding the accelerometer, I have only vague ideas of its working. I will attempt to gain a better understanding Week 8, perhaps make a small program to improve my knowledge.

Week 6

I started this blog during week 5, and I will try to keep it updated weekly from now on to the end of the project.
This week I studied "Testing Objective Measures of Motor Impairment in Early Parkinson’s Disease: Feasibility Study of an At-Home Testing Device" by Goetz et al. The study reviewed the feasibility of ATHD's in regards to patient compliance and cooperation and the storing and transmition of data. Besides learning of some key domains desired for PD analysis, I also took away some practices for ensuring the viability of my research and studies and of the welfare of participants.

My work on the program is continuing. I have created a program that has 4 buttons (right, left, up and down) that accelerate a ball in their direction. The ball will also bounce off the sides of the button, keeping the ball inside the limits of the screen. I have been learning the use of a few functions by adjusting the code in this tutorial. I am thinking this is the easy part, and that things will get much more complicated very soon.

Initial Remarks

I will endeavor to log my thesis efforts on this blog. The exact titling for my project is still under consideration, but I will attempt to summarize it. I am attempting to build an iOS application, primarily on the iPhone to function as an AHTD, or At Home Testing Device. This device will assist in the review and assessment of Parkinson effected people. The management of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) could be greatly aided by the availability of an AHTD for frequent, quantitative monitoring of motor symptoms in PD. Thanks to Philip Leong for taking me under his guidance as my Supervisor. Currently I am studying the topic area and literature, as well as improving my iOS development knowledge.

I have read an extract from the IEEE Transactions on Neutral Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering paper titled "On the Use of Low-Cost Computer Peripherals for the Assessment of Motor Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease – Qualification of Bradykinesia Using Target Tracking Tasks". This paper has revealed to me some variables to consider in the creation and testing of my product. I believe Bradykinesia refers to the irregular and abrupt stopping of movement afflicted on some PD patients. Patients also suffer from tremors, though I am currently unsure how violent these can be. Bradykinesia and Tremor data appear to be useful in the diagnosis of PD assessment, and thus I should aim to identify and record them.

I am making small steps in my iOS development, having currently made a program to accept input to move a small picture around a screen. I aim to have a basic rolling ball game coded before the end of semester. This game will test the tremor and overall dexterity of patients. I am also considering a replication of the nine hole peg test, which will also provide tremor analysis, but also may provide more accurate Bradykinesia readings. It also requires more dexterity and will most likely provide more information on PD patients.