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Xbox Kinect system designed to help Parkinson’s patients


HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING


UK prime minister sets out plans for AI medicine initiatives


The UK prime minister, Theresa May, has outlined plans to use AI and data research to reduce cancer deaths by 22,000 by the year 2033. Speaking in Macclesfield, the prime minister challenged the NHS, artificial intelligence (AI) sector and health charities to use AI to transform the diagnosis of chronic diseases.


A system that employs Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral to help people with Parkinson’s disease overcome debilitating walking problems has been developed by researchers at Brunel University in London. The Kinect is a now-defunct line of motion sensing input devices sold alongside Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Xbox One devices. The Kinect sensor uses an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone, which is aimed at providing full-body 3D motion capture, facial, and voice recognition. The system is now being used by


researchers to monitor and detect freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s patients. When an occurrence is observed a laser casts visual cues on the floor according to the patient’s location, helping them release their gait and improve their movement. ‘Freezing of gait is one of the most disabling symptoms in people with Parkinson’s, affecting its sufferers by impacting their gait performance and locomotion,’ said Dr Amin Amini, a researcher from Brunel’s Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, who leads the research. ‘It is an episodic phenomenon that


prevents the initiation or continuation of a patient’s locomotion, and it may lead to a loss of independence or frequent falls.’ It’s hoped the system, which was


supported by Parkinson’s UK, can be further developed and then be installed in patients’ homes. The system prototype, which costs just


£137 to build, excluding its controlling PC, works by monitoring a patient’s leg movements in their own home. While similar systems using Kinect have been tested previously, the new system


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monitors the angle of the patient’s knee and their head direction, offering increased accuracy and a reduction in false positives. Although the Kinect was discontinued


as a commercial product in 2017, second- hand versions are still easily obtainable. ‘The main reason that Microsoft Kinect


was used is that it doesn’t require the patients to attach any sensors to their bodies in order for the system to detect FOGs. ‘The Kinect can unobtrusively detect


and track subjects’ body movements without any attachments, which makes it an ideal device for such applications,’ said Amini. ‘We tested the system’s capabilities and detection success rate by inviting healthy participants during the prototype phase, as well as inviting real Parkinson’s disease patients to a focus group where we demonstrated our system in action,’ said Amini. The results showed the possibility of


employing the system as an indoor and on-demand visual cue system for people with Parkinson’s, that does not rely on the subject’s input or introduce any additional complexities to operate. ‘Despite limitations regarding its outdoor


use, feedback was very positive in terms of domestic usability and convenience, with people with Parkinson’s showing interest in installing and using the system at their homes,’ added Amini. The research has now been published in the in the Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology: ‘Kinect4FOG: monitoring and improving mobility in people with Parkinson’s using a novel system incorporating the Microsoft Kinect v2’.


The plans will see at least 50,000 people each year diagnosed at an early stage of prostate, ovarian, lung or bowel cancer – people who would have otherwise been diagnosed at a later and more deadly stage. The prime minister said: ‘Late diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of avoidable deaths. And the development of smart technologies to analyse great quantities of data quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings opens up a whole new field of medical research and gives us a new weapon in our armoury in the fight against disease.’ ‘Achieving this mission will not only save thousands of lives. It will incubate a whole new industry around AI in healthcare, creating high-skilled science jobs across the country, drawing on existing centres of excellence in places like Edinburgh, Oxford and Leeds – and helping to grow new ones,’ concluded May.


Theresa May June/July 2018 Scientific Computing World 27


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