The SleepFit Tablet Application for Home-Based Clinical Data Collection in Parkinson Disease: User-Centric Development and Usability Study

Alessandro Mascheroni, Eun Kyoung Choe, Yuhan Luo, Michele Marazza, Clara Ferlito, Serena Caverzasio, Francesco Mezzanotte, Alain Kaelin-Lang, Francesca Faraci, Alessandro Puiatti, Pietro Luca Ratti
2021
BACKGROUND Parkinson disease (PD) is a common, multifaceted neurodegenerative disorder profoundly impacting patients' autonomy and quality of life. Assessment in real-life conditions of subjective symptoms and objective metrics of mobility and nonmotor symptoms such as sleep disturbance is strongly advocated. This information would critically guide the adaptation of antiparkinsonian medications and nonpharmacological interventions. Moreover, since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, health
more » ... practices are being reshaped toward a more home-based care. New technologies could play a pivotal role in this new approach to clinical care. Nevertheless, devices and information technology tools might be unhandy for PD patients, thus dramatically limiting their widespread employment. OBJECTIVE The goals of the research were development and usability evaluation of an application, SleepFit, for ecological momentary assessment of objective and subjective clinical metrics at PD patients' homes, and as a remote tool for researchers to monitor patients and integrate and manage data. METHODS An iterative and user-centric strategy was employed for the development of SleepFit. The core structure of SleepFit consists of (1) an electronic finger-tapping test; (2) motor, sleepiness, and emotional subjective scales; and (3) a sleep diary. Applicable design, ergonomic, and navigation principles have been applied while tailoring the application to the specific patient population. Three progressively enhanced versions of the application (alpha, v1.0, v2.0) were tested by a total of 56 patients with PD who were asked to perform multiple home assessments 4 times per day for 2 weeks. Patient compliance was calculated as the proportion of completed tasks out of the total number of expected tasks. Satisfaction on the latest version (v2.0) was evaluated as potential willingness to use SleepFit again after the end of the study. RESULTS From alpha to v1.0, SleepFit was improved in graphics, ergonomics, and navigation, with [...]
doi:10.48350/164330 fatcat:e3xv4shajnajzn72f4qbpqnsuy