In short, the symptoms that cause psoriatic arthritis are fickle. The autoimmune disease causes inflammation of the skin, joints and tendons, where flare-ups are unexpected and the consequences are drastic. The patients often live with a lot of pain, which often leads to poor sleep and fatigue.
Scientist Jolanda Luime and her co-researcher Ilya Tchetverikov wanted to improve these living conditions by developing a digital assistant that can help with this. The purpose of the software is to recognize flare-ups before they flare up. A subsidy of 7 million euros has been made available by the European Commission.
Daily use
The digital assistant will not only work with mobile phone sensors, but also with other smart devices such as smartwatches or smart rings. These devices not only measure the amount of movement, but also the increase in stress and physical exertion.
With this, the scientists hope that people with this disease can live in peace. With the help of the digital assistant, triggers for flare-ups can be better recognized, so that patients can intervene earlier by moving less or by changing their medication.
At the moment the first prototype is ready. Once the project is fully completed, the researchers will test it in patients in a study setting.
Future plans
The ultimate goal of Luime and Tchetverikov is to prevent the entire disease. Many patients have previously developed psoriasis, an inflammatory disease of the skin. The researchers therefore want to analyze whether the software can also recognize future joint or tendon infections in people with the skin condition. This may make it possible to recognize the autoimmune disease at an early stage and then treat it with the right medicines, so that the disease can disappear in the long term.
By: National Care Guide