Communications of the ACM
Real Tremors, or Drug-Seeking Patient? New App Can Tell
The Tremor app developed by researchers at the University of Toronto is designed to measure tremor strength, which provides doctors with objective guidance for treatment decisions.
Credit: University of Toronto
University of Toronto researchers say they have developed the world's first app designed to measure tremor strength, providing objective guidance to direct treatment decisions.
The researchers say the app also could be used to make predictions about whether the tremor is real or fake.
The researchers tested the app on 49 patients experiencing tremors in emergency rooms, as well as 12 nurses trying to mimic the symptom. The study found that 75 percent of patients with genuine symptoms had tremors with an average peak frequency higher than seven cycles per second, while only 17 percent of nurses trying to fake a withdrawal tremor were able to produce a tremor with the same characteristics.
The app uses data from an accelerometer to measure the frequency of tremors for both hands for 20 seconds.
"Our app may also be useful in assisting withdrawal management staff, who typically have no clinical training, and determining which patients should be transferred to the emergency department for medical treatment or assessment," says University of Toronto professor Bjug Borgundvaag.
From University of Toronto
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