Early Findings of Pison Neural Biosenor as Digital Biomarker in Multiple Sclerosis.

Research Objectives: The Pison biosensor, a wrist-worn device containing surface electromyography (sEMG) and inertial measurement sensors, is a scalable source of a digital biomarker for characterization of function. The main objective of the present study was to assess the feasibility of using the Pison neural biosensor to distinguish between different levels of function through an innovative reaction time measurement.

Design: A pilot cross-sectional study

Setting: University Research Laboratory

Participants: Two individuals with MS (age of 61.5±15.5, BMI of 29.43±3.57, and 50% women) and one healthy (age 54, BMI of 26.1, and woman).

Interventions: N/A

Main Outcome Measures: Participants were assessed for their level of disability using the Patient Determined Disability Scale (PDDS). The clinical function of the upper extremities was evaluated using the 9-hole Peg Test, and neuromuscular function was measured using the Pison Device Reaction Time Test. The Pison device was worn on the dominant hand. During the test, the participant responded with a quick wrist extension to a light stimulus that appeared multiple times for 3 minutes. The inter-stimulus interval was randomized between 1 and 4 seconds. Reaction time (RT) was determined by measuring the onset of movement as measured by the accelerometer signal. Two components of RT, including electromechanical delay (EMD) and premotor time (PMT), were calculated. PMT was defined as the difference between the reaction time cue and the neuromuscular response as measured by the sEMG signal. We also measure fatigue before and after the test by utilizing a visual analogue scale, where 0 indicates no fatigue, and 10 indicates the worst fatigue.

Results: Two participants with MS had PDDS of 1 and 3. As expected, performance on the 9-hole peg test scaled with self-reported disability. Specifically, the healthy participant showed the fastest result (t=16.2), and the person with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) with a PDDS score of 3 and 1 showed the slowest (t=21.76s, t=23.10s) performance in the 9-hole peg test, respectively. The longest PMT (320.2 ms) and shortest EMD (44.1 ms) was calculated for the pwMS with PDDS 3. The healthy participant also showed the smallest PMT (173.2 ms) and longest EMD (64 ms). The participant level of fatigue did not change after the test by the Pison device.

Conclusions: The present study is part of the ongoing pilot study, and the results show that the Pison device may be a feasible method for assessing neuromuscular function in individuals with MS. Further investigation is warranted.

Author(s) Disclosures: None