Would it be useful to monitor your Multiple Sclerosis symptoms during the course of your day so that you and your doctor could be alerted that an exacerbation might be just around the corner?
A research project based in Europe is studying whether a wearable device and a smart phone could be used to monitor MS patients and those with two other relapsing/remitting central nervous 
system diseases; epilepsy and depressive disorder. It’s called the RADAR-CNS project; Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse – Central Nervous System. RADAR-CNS hopes to create wearable, remote monitoring technology to predict, and maybe even preempt, exacerbations.
“In recent years, the quality and quantity of data that we can collect using wearable devices and smartphones has exploded,” says Professor Matthew Hotopf, Director of the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre in London. “It may be that this sort of data can improve clinical care simply by providing more accurate information. Better still,” says Professor Hotopf, “it may be possible to spot when a patient is getting into trouble before their clinic visit.”
It’s hoped that this sort of information can be used to help improve a patient’s life quality and, possibly, change how his or her disease is treated.
Patients will have a say in how this remote monitoring will actually work, by helping to identify the most important symptoms to monitor and how best to monitor them, using methods that patients will accept. Cost, the availability of the technology, security and privacy are also concerns that need to be addressed during this project.
The RADAR-CNS project began in April of 2016 and runs until March of 2021.
