Computational tracking of Parkinsonian motor fluctuations in a real-world setting: a case study

Digital biomarkers based on accurate tracking of motor behaviour can provide a cost-effective, objective, and robust measure for Parkinson’s Disease progression, changes in care needs, and the effect of interventions. Markerless motion capture technology offers a promising approach for running it in the home. This technology uses depth sensors to capture movement unobtrusively and generate objective and quantifiable movement features. Here we present a 4-month long case study during which the patient visits our lab every month to perform mobility tasks and daily living tasks. Our data suggest accurate tracking of symptom fluctuations during both task types. This is a promising proof-of-concept towards passive tracking in-the-home of Parkinsonian symptom fluctuations

SEED: A framework for integrating ecological stoichiometry and eco‐evolutionary dynamics

Characterising the extent and sources of intraspecific variation and their ecological consequences is a central challenge in the study of eco‐evolutionary dynamics. Ecological stoichiometry, which uses elemental variation of organisms and their environment to understand ecosystem patterns and processes, can be a powerful framework for characterising eco‐evolutionary dynamics. However, the current emphasis on the relative content of elements in the body (i.e. organismal stoichiometry) has constrained its application. Intraspecific variation in the rates at which elements are acquired, assimilated, allocated or lost is often greater than the variation in organismal stoichiometry. There is much to gain from studying these traits together as components of an ‘elemental phenotype’. Furthermore, each of these traits can have distinct ecological effects that are underappreciated in the current literature. We propose a conceptual framework that explores how microevolutionary change in the elemental phenotype occurs, how its components interact with each other and with other traits, and how its changes can affect a wide range of ecological processes. We demonstrate how the framework can be used to generate novel hypotheses and outline pathways for future research that enhance our ability to explain, analyse and predict eco‐evolutionary dynamics

Multicohort cross-sectional study of cognitive and behavioural digital biomarkers in neurodegeneration: the Living Lab Study protocol

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Digital biomarkers can provide a cost-effective, objective and robust measure for neurological disease progression, changes in care needs and the effect of interventions. Motor function, physiology and behaviour can provide informative measures of neurological conditions and neurodegenerative decline. New digital technologies present an opportunity to provide remote, high-frequency monitoring of patients from within their homes. The purpose of the living lab study is to develop novel digital biomarkers of functional impairment in those living with neurodegenerative disease (NDD) and neurological conditions. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Living Lab study is a cross-sectional observational study of cognition and behaviour in people living with NDDs and other, non-degenerative neurological conditions. Patients (n≥25 for each patient group) with dementia, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, mild cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury and stroke along with controls (n≥60) will be pragmatically recruited. Patients will carry out activities of daily living and functional assessments within the Living Lab. The Living Lab is an apartment-laboratory containing a functional kitchen, bathroom, bed and living area to provide a controlled environment to develop novel digital biomarkers. The Living Lab provides an important intermediary stage between the conventional laboratory and the home. Multiple passive environmental sensors, internet-enabled medical devices, wearables and electroencephalography (EEG) will be used to characterise functional impairments of NDDs and non-NDD conditions. We will also relate these digital technology measures to clinical and cognitive outcomes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approvals have been granted by the Imperial College Research Ethics Committee (reference number: 21IC6992). Results from the study will be disseminated at conferences and within peer-reviewed journals

Animating architecture: foliage chorus.

The DVD focuses on a site-specific work created for the opening of the artsdepot building in North London. A central research focus of the dance work is explored and articulated by the DVD: the preoccupation with disrupting the perspective and role of the viewer; as well as the investigation of physical responses to specific environments and the associated spatial alignments. In addition, the DVD references a debate between the organic and the artifice of art, which is both a debate sparked by internal discussion at ResCen, and a concern manifested in dance work in Britain today. The DVD also illustrates the ways in which my work consistently seeks to challenge the construction and negotiation of contemporary identity. The combination of dialogues between myself and the collaborators together with images of the building itself, aims to allow the viewer to obtain detailed insight into the creative process of the artist. Collaborators include: architect John Thornberry; writer - Sanjoy Roy; performance footage editing - Richard Coldman; Manu Luksch - performance video, Jane Watt - Editor. Footage of the performance is featured, but this DVD makes no claims to provide a documentation of the performance: instead, it seeks to allow the viewer to understand creative process in a contemporary practitioner whose work is widely reviewed and subject to public academic analysis and criticism