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Parkinson’s disease patient builds app to better match his meds with his symptoms

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2019-07-04 10:05

About the solution

Ray Finucane, born in the USA, in 1944, is a retired mechanical engineer who struggles with Parkinson’s disease. He built an app, in 2015, to help him better match his medication with the onset of symptoms.

Parkinson’s disease consists of a condition when cells in the midbrain deteriorate and die. These cells produce dopamine, which is imperative for regular muscle movement. To make these dopamine levels normal, the patient takes a drug call levodopa (which is the standard treatment for this condition for more than 50 years).

However, there’s no way to regulate the concentration of dopamine in the patient’s body. So it’s difficult to adjust the perfect dose of levodopa to a specific person and their needs. Also, Parkinson’s disease is a fluctuating condition (symptoms come and go), which makes it harder to predict how patients will respond to the meds.

So Ray faced this as an engineering problem and developed PDWatch, a mobile app (iOS) that would help him calculate and monitor the levodopa dose for his needs.

“What I have done is to come up with a way to predict the cumulative effect of a specified prescription, and a scheme to derive a pill schedule to meet the desired endpoint goal. It involves something akin to unwinding a blockchain if that makes sense to you”, he explained.

Ray had the help of a German developer, Heiko Mueller, and together they created an app that keeps track of the patient’s medication and, based on this, helps the user predict the effectiveness of his drug treatment.

The retired engineer keeps an hourly record of his symptoms on the app, which also serves as a personalised pill tracker. He enters in each and every blue-and-white gelcap of Rytary, the long-acting levodopa/carbidopa he takes, as well as the medication’s dose size and timing. The app can also track the heart rate and step-data data by syncing with the Apple Watch.

PDWatch combines the data with several custom-built algorithms and then shows charts with the estimated levodopa concentration in the brain over time. This information allows the user to get a rough idea about his condition (when he will be able to walk, when he will have to be in bed, etc.).

PDWatch has not been released publicly, as it’s still a prototype. It hasn’t been approved by the FDA but it has been tested and reviewed, informally, by medical professionals.

More info: https://bit.ly/309icdX

Adapted from: https://bit.ly/328aqDa

This solution shall not include mention to the use of drugs, chemicals or biologicals (including food); invasive devices; offensive, commercial or inherently dangerous content. This solution was not medically validated. Proceed with caution! If you have any doubts, please consult with a health professional.

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Ray Finucane, born in the USA, in 1944, is a retired mechanical engineer who struggles with Parkinson’s disease. He built an app, in 2015, to help him better match his medication with the onset of symptoms.

Comments (3)

  • WesTunrbull20 Thu, 01/07/2021 - 10:41

    I stopped the Parkinson's medications prescribed due to severe side effects and started on natural treatments from VineHealth Clinic (VHC) in California, the herbal treatment has made a big difference for me. My symptoms including tremors and muscle weakness all disappeared after the months long treatment! Go to ww w. vinehealthclinic. c om. This treatment is simply amazing!  

  • Maclea11 Sun, 03/14/2021 - 05:58

    after talking alot of medication our doctor ask us,to start on Tree of life Health Clinic Parkinson's Disease Herbal mixture, 1 month into treatment she improved dramatically. At the end of the full treatment course, the disease is totally under control. No case of dementia, hallucination, weakness, muscle pain or tremors. all thanks to Tree of Life Clinic, Visit Tree of life Health Clinic website ww w.treeoflifeherbalclinic. com She is strong again and able to go about daily activities

  • brendaannntouchet Thu, 06/02/2022 - 08:07

    Finally, I was introduced to Health Herbs Clinic and their effective Parkinson’s herbal protocol. This protocol relieved symptoms significantly, even better than the medications I was given. Visit ww w. healthherbsclinic. c om. After First month on treatment, my tremors mysterious stopped, had improvement walking. After I completed the treatment, all symptoms were gone. I live a more productive life. I was fortunate to have the loving support of my husband and family. I make it a point to appreciate every day!

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