Ok, Glass: Change Everything We Know about Parkinson's Disease

If you are like most people, your first question will be, "what is Google Glass?"  Hopefully this video will provide some clarity:

At the Park School of Communications, we have been thinking critically concerning how to use Google Glass to change the way we teach, advise, and research in Higher Ed.  Student success, specifically first-year retention and graduation rates, could be significantly impacted by the strategic use of Glass by faculty and academic advisors.  The more I work with Google Glass for my job as associate dean, the more I can't help envisioning how it can change the Parkinson's paradigm.  I see it functioning in two areas specifically: diagnostic testing by neurologists and helping to articulate the patient experience.

I am a media researcher, not a movement disorders specialist (neither profession, by the way, will get you dates with supermodels), but it appears that Glass could assist neurologists in three immediate areas:

• Diagnostic Tool:  an app could be developed that could walk a neurologist through what they are observing when meeting with a patient for the first time.  "Patient is 30 with significant right arm resting tremor, reduced arm swing, and right leg drag."  The app, having observed the physical traits, could then present the statistical likelihood that the patient has PD.

• Video Monitoring:  the camera that is imbedded in the glasses is excellent and could be used to keep a visual diary of the patient's progression.  I know some taping is currently done but this would allow the doctor to continue the exam keeping his or her hands free.  Below is a video of my neurologist, Dr. Miodrag Velickovic, trying out Google Glass during my last check-up:

• Conferencing:  there is a feature that allows people to see what you see in a live Google Hangout.  Imagine how useful this can be for conferencing a team of specialists during an examination or in educating the next generation of neurologists who can observe the best clinicians working from 5,000 miles away.

Before we move on to discuss the patients, there is the aesthetic side to the glasses that takes some getting used to.  In my warped world, I sometimes forget that 99% of the population looks at me with a, "what the hell is this lunatic wearing" stare.  But that 1% who recognizes what I have on!  Let me tell you, my friend, to them I am Bryan M. Roberts, Nerd King!

Looking at Google Glass from the patient perspective really excites me.  This post could start becoming something David Foster Wallace would approve of (complete with footnotes) so I'll keep my thoughts to three points:

• Hands-Free Controls: since Glass can be controlled by your voice (and now it seems, possibly by just winking), it can liberate some of the challenges that come with PD-related tremors and rigidity.  There is already a case concerning a paralyzed young woman using Glass.

• The Patient's Perspective:  most PD patients cannot articulate their day-to-day experiences to their neurologists in an hour appointment.  This allows a patient to keep a visual diary of their on and off times to tailor a therapy schedule to that person.  PD is an individual disease and we individualize treatment when there is visual evidence of a patient's daily experience with Parkinson's.

• Access to good treatment is often a challenge---especially when you are looking to meet with a neurologist that specializes in movement disorders.   I'm in upstate New York and still have to drive 4 hours back to NYC or 2 hours to Rochester to meet with a specialist.  Being able to use the conference feature to set-up virtual appointments will level the playing field for patients unable to travel far distances and, ultimately, result in better patient care.

These are just a few of the numerous applications that Google Glass may have for the Parkinson's community.  We are probably a year out from more wider scale adoption and already much progress is being made using the Glass device to aid patients---especially those with gait issues.  I'm optimistic on the progress that we continue to make in the clinics and research labs.  New technology such as Google Glass can only help us continue the positive momentum for better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.  I can even imagine a Fox Trial Finder app in the near future that would go something like this:

"Ok, Glass:  Find me a clinical trial that is enrolling participants in the greater Ithaca area."

This is a game changer.