Wearable sensors to track movement, activity, and sleep in Huntington's disease
Measuring Digital Clinical Endpoints in Huntington's Disease (MEND-HD)
This project uses wearable devices and digital tools to measure movement problems, involuntary movements, activity, heart rate variability, and sleep in people with early Huntington's disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Rochester NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11193278 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would wear small sensors and use digital health tools that record walking, involuntary movements, daily activity, heart rate variability, and sleep. The research team will apply customized machine-learning methods to separate choreic movements from normal gait and to extract reliable movement features even when involuntary motions are present. They will collect these measurements repeatedly in people with early Huntington's disease and compare them with standard clinic tests and clinical ratings. The goal is to show which digital measures are reliable and meaningful enough to be used as outcomes in future HD treatment trials.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with early-stage Huntington's disease who can wear sensors at home and follow remote data-collection procedures.
Not a fit: People without Huntington's disease or those with very advanced disease who cannot tolerate wearable devices or follow the protocol may not benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable more sensitive, remote monitoring of movement and sleep that helps detect changes earlier and improves outcome measures for HD trials.
How similar studies have performed: Early pilot work from the team and others suggests wearable sensors and machine learning can capture gait and chorea features in HD, but larger validation studies are still needed.
Where this research is happening
Rochester, United States
- University of Rochester — Rochester, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Adams, Jamie Lynn — University of Rochester
- Study coordinator: Adams, Jamie Lynn
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.