THE MEASUREMENT OF TREMOR USING SIMPLE LASER SYSTEMS

Quantification of movement pathologies is an important challenge of th e clinical and research laboratories today. Basically, two problems mu st be addressed. The first one is to find the appropriate technology; the second is to develop adequate measures from the raw data which wil l best discriminate between health and pathology. In this paper, we pr opose a simple method to record and analyse tremor and other microdisp lacements of the upper extremities based on the recording of position by laser analog sensors. Any microcomputer equipped to perform analog- digital conversion is compatible for use with this system. The perform ance of the laser system is examined and compared with the performance of accelerometers. Finally, data recorded with a laser analog sensor from a patient with Parkinson's disease and a control subject are pres ented. This new laser-based quantitative method may prove to be an imp ortant tool in early and differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative d iseases of the central nervous system.