image: 30 May 2024 (Dublin, Ireland): RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has partnered with Head Diagnostics on a clinical study to enhance the assessment and monitoring of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) through innovative technology. Pictured is a demonstration of the iTremor One device, a handheld medical device that gives a rapid and non-invasive measure of ocular microtremor. (Credit: Head Diagnostics)
Credit: Head Diagnostics
Thursday, 30 MAY 2024: RCSI has partnered with Head Diagnostics (Dublin, Ireland) on a clinical study to enhance the assessment and monitoring of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) through innovative technology. The study, launched to coincide with World MS Day, will explore the use of novel digital biomarkers to monitor disease, with the aim of providing greater objectivity in assessing the condition.
MS is a complex neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. The current methods of assessing disease progression and treatment effect for MS patients are limited and often subjective. This new collaboration aims to address this issue by exploring the potential of non-invasive digital biomarkers, including a little-known tremor of the eye, and measures of a person’s manner of walking, to provide accurate and real-time data on disease activity.
Central to the study is Head Diagnostics' innovative iTremor One device, a handheld medical device that gives a rapid and non-invasive measure of ocular microtremor (OMT), a high frequency involuntary fixational eye movement that is believed to reflect activity in the brainstem. Previous studies have found that OMT changes in people with MS, as well as other neurological conditions, although the traditional approach to measuring this has been particularly invasive, limiting research. Combining this measure with gait analysis offers the potential to provide more comprehensive, accurate and real-time data on disease activity.
This observational study based out of Beaumont Hospital is designed to evaluate the utility of OMT and gait in monitoring MS, enrolling 120 participants including those with and without a diagnosis of MS, and assessing them regularly over a 12-month period.
“Exploring the potential of measuring patients’ microtremors of the eye and their gait as measures of MS progression offers a promising new direction in our management approach,” said Dr Lisa Costelloe, Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer at RCSI, Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital, and study Co-Principal Investigator. “The treatment options for MS patients have advanced dramatically in recent decades but the outcome measures we use in clinical practice do not capture all aspects of the disease, in particular early disease progression. This study marks a significant step in exploration of more precise and robust monitoring of MS, which is crucial for effective management and treatment.”
Dr Rob Argent, Lecturer in Digital and Connected Health in RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and study Co-Principal Investigator noted the importance of this research saying: "This study presents a unique opportunity to develop digital measures that can provide a more convenient, comprehensive, and objective measure of MS. By leveraging digital health technologies, we seek to support assessment, enhance disease monitoring, and contribute to the advancement of precision medicine in MS.”
“In combining our innovative iTremor One device with RCSI's research expertise, we aim to revolutionise the way MS is assessed and monitored,” said David van Zuydam, Head Diagnostics’ CEO. “This study supports our mission to provide objective and real-time disease management tools for neurological diseases and impairments.”
This study is supported by the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Partnership Programme, which provides funding and support for collaborative research projects between industry and academic institutions in Ireland.
ENDS
About RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences is ranked first in the world for its contribution to UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, Good Health and Well-being, in the Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Rankings 2023.
Exclusively focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide, RCSI is an international not-for-profit university, headquartered in Dublin. It is among the top 300 universities worldwide in the World University Rankings (2024). RCSI has been awarded Athena Swan Bronze accreditation for positive gender practice in higher education.
Founded in 1784 as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) with national responsibility for training surgeons in Ireland, today RCSI is an innovative, world-leading international health sciences university and research institution offering education and training at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional level.
Visit the RCSI MyHealth Expert Directory to find the details of our experts across a range of healthcare issues and concerns. Recognising their responsibility to share their knowledge and discoveries to empower people with information that leads them to better health, these clinicians and researchers are willing to engage with the media in their area of expertise.
About Head Diagnostics
Head Diagnostics (Head Dx), an Irish company established in 2018 and based in Dublin, aims to provide rapid assessment, assisting clinicians in making an objective diagnosis of brain disease and neurological impairment. They are developing innovative technologies plus an associated handheld medical device. The Head Dx iTremor device is a non-invasive rapid OMT test that can be used outside of the clinical setting and returns a measure within 10 seconds.
The device forms the foundation of Head Dx’s planned Digital Neuro Platform, a vision to consolidate several digital biomarkers into a multimodal technology solution that can provide diagnosis, monitoring and management for brain disease and brain injury.