AVERT-MD

Movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, cerebellar ataxias and Huntington's disease are complex neurological disorders whose early diagnosis is a major challenge. Conventional clinical examinations are not designed to detect changes in the prodromal phase of these diseases, which is the most promising time window for preventive and therapeutic interventions.

The aim of our research is to develop digital biomarkers that enable early diagnosis of movement disorders and monitoring of disease progression. The AVERT-MD study uses technologies from the fields of virtual reality (VR), mobile applications and sensor-/video-based motion capture systems (MoCap). In the future, the creation of photorealistic 3D avatars is also planned: these are digital images of people that enable a precise analysis of individual movement patterns.

The AVERT-MD study is a model project within the framework of the joint project InVirtuo 4.0, which is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia. Experts from the fields of computer science, media studies, clinical neuroscience and psychology are working closely together on this project.

Who are we looking for?

• Healthy subjects
• Patients with Parkinson's disease, isolated REM sleep behavior disorder, essential tremor, cerebellar ataxia, and Huntington's disease

The AVERT-MD study includes the following procedures:

• Collection of demographic and clinical data: A study physician will collect background information on your disease (e.g. age of onset, medications) and perform various clinical tests (SARA, UPDRS, UHDRS).
• Expression Tracker: Expression Tracker is a mobile app that uses the front-facing cameras of phones and tablets to analyze facial expressions and so-called microexpressions. You will be asked to imitate various facial expressions (e.g. laughing, looking angry) on the display of a tablet.
• Pupil Labs: Pupil Labs is a pair of glasses equipped with cameras, both facing your eyes and your line of vision. You look at moving dots on a tablet screen while the accuracy and speed of your eye movements and line of vision are analyzed.
• VR & MoCap tests: VR is a technology that allows you to experience interactive 3D environments. We develop various game scenarios in VR that resemble neurological examination tests to detect subtle changes in your movement patterns. During the tests, you will wear a head-mounted display (a type of glasses that display the virtual world in front of your eyes) and, if necessary, various sensors on your body.
• 3D avatar scanning: Scanning takes place in the Visual Computing Incubator (VCI), a special studio stage with a network of synchronized light sources and cameras from different angles to create detailed 3D models. The VCI is a facility of the Institute for Computer Science at the University of Bonn. It is currently under construction and is expected to be operational in the course of 2025.

A summary of the information can be found in the AVERT-MD study flyer.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Dr. Ahmad Aziz
Start of the study: 2025
Status: monocetric, running, recruitment active

Dr. Berkan Koyak
berkan-serdal-can.koyak(at)dzne.de
+49 228 287 31995
+49 228 43302 849