The Multiple Sclerosis Unit of the Department of Neurology at Hospital Clínic (Barcelona, Spain) presents the partial results of a treatment study of patients with MS using telemedicine, at the European Congress of Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2013 in Copenhagen.
Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) require an accurate clinical follow-up due to the unpredictable course of the disease and the need to monitor the efficacy of available therapies. One of the main objectives is to detect the progression of the disease as soon as possible. Telemedicine has proven to be a useful tool in the control and monitoring of chronic diseases, and its specific use for MS in combination with accelerometers for objective assessment of ambulation is very promising.
The study was accomplished by creating two groups of patients, these being treated only in one of groups to compare results .
Activities performed by the pressential assessment group:
- Expanded Disability Status Scale and functional systems
- Test 6 - MWT (6 Minute Walk Test) and conventional triaxial accelerometers (counts/steps)
Activities performed by the telemedicine assessment group:
- Self-administered questionnaires on neurological functions + a neurological examination video
- Remote 6 - MWT with accelerometer (counts/steps)
- One week activity registration with accelerometer (counts/steps)
All the Telemedicine part has been carried out using Linkcare platform and has confirmed the feasibility of using telemedicine to evaluate MS patients by combining self-reported and multimedia information, which had not been previously described. The information obtained through the remote 6 - MWT with accelerometers proved to be useful to reflect daily walking activity of patients. The combination of the use of Telemedicine and accelerometers produced valuable information to better characterize the disease and help in the detection of changes due to medical interventions or to the advancement of the disease itself.
