Summary: Scientists are exploring how audio speakers, or “hearables”, may detect early signs of Alzheimer’s disease by monitoring simple attention activity changes. Alzheimer’s impacts motor and cognitive functions, with slowed or delayed eye movements ( saccades ) being an early indicator.
Regular eye trackers are expensive and impenetrable, but hearables may capture related eardrum vibrations for invasive, long-term monitoring. By analyzing these signs, experts aim to create a tool for early Alzheimer’s diagnosis and possibly for another neurological problems.
Important Facts:
- Alzheimer’s patients exhibit slower, less accurate eye movements ( saccades ).
- Saccade-induced eardrum vibrations can be detected by sympathetic earpiece microphones.
- This noninvasive technique may allow long-term checking for Alzheimer’s and other illnesses.
Origin: American Institute of Physics
More than 50 million people worldwide are affected by Alzheimer’s condition, frequently causing havoc on both those affected by it and their loved ones. It has no known treatment, and the sluggish, democratic nature of the disease makes earlier diagnosis difficult.
Scientists from Dartmouth University and the École de Technologie Supérieure are looking into the use of ear microphones to detect Alzheimer’s early warning signs. Miriam Boutros may present their work on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 4: 15 p. m. ET, as part of the online 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, running Nov. 18-22, 2024.
Individuals with Alzheimer’s show a loss of motor power along with mental decline. Involuntary vision movements known as saccades, one of the earliest indications of this degradation, can be seen. These quick jerks of the eye in Alzheimer’s people are generally slower, less correct, or delayed compared to those in healthy people.
Arian Shamei, a researcher, said that eye movements are interesting because they are one of the most swift and specific movements in human body. As a result, they rely on excellent motor skills and cognitive functioning.
A person must be monitored by eye-tracking gear, which is not readily available for most people, before saccades can be detected and analyzed directly. Utilizing ear microphones, which are more common and less aggressive, Bouros and her colleagues are looking into an alternative approach.
Rachel Bouserhal and Chris Niemczak from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University lead this study’s research at the École de Technologie Supérieure’s Research in Hearing Health and Assistive Devices ( RHAD ) Laboratory.
” We are using a system called a hearable”, said Boutros.
It has in-ear speakers that can pick up bodily signals, according to the manufacturer. Our goal is to develop health-monitoring systems for hearables, worthy of steady, long-term surveillance and early disease diagnosis”.
Eardrum vibrations are picked up by sensitive microphones inside the ear, which are also triggered by saccades and eye movements. The researchers are using volunteers as hearables and conventional eye trackers for their research.
Their goal is to distinguish between healthy signals and those that are symptomatic of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and to identify saccades.
They hope that their research will one day produce devices capable of non-invasive continuous monitoring of Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions.
” While the current project is focused on long-term monitoring of Alzheimer’s disease, eventually, we would like to tackle other diseases and be able to differentiate between them based on symptoms that can be tracked through in-ear signals”, said Shamei.
About this Alzheimer’s disease and neurotech research news
Author: Hannah Daniel
Source: American Institute of Physics
Contact: Hannah Daniel – American Institute of Physics
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
The 187th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America will hold original research presentations.
