An Unobtrusive Neurological Digital Biomarker for Monitoring of Disease Condition
Celestra Health has developed a cost-effective and highly sensitive biomarker for measuring Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s walking quality under real world conditions.
Gait Lab in a Shoe
Unobtrusively measures patient walking quality with laboratory-grade accuracy, at 1/100th the cost of a conventional gait laboratory.
For medical conditions such as MS or Parkinson’s, patients are sometimes referred to a gait laboratory, where synchronized high speed video cameras, steel force plates and specialized treadmills are used to accurately measure the patient’s gait.
A barrier to collecting laboratory-grade human movement data is that it is expensive, time consuming, and requires highly trained personnel to collect and analyse the data. Whereas the Celestra Health platform unobtrusively collects walking data as the patient goes about their daily routines and can measure subtle changes in gait over time.
Medical studies have shown that the calibre of data collected by smart insole technology is equivalent to the quality of data that is available from a multi-million-dollar gait lab; we refer to this concept as “Gait Lab in a Shoe”. We have designed our platform to be as intuitive and patient-friendly as possible, and are continuing to work closely with patients around the world. We are also working with a world-class team of neurologists from Harvard Medical School (US), Bart’s Health (one of the largest NHS trusts in the UK), Technical University of Dresden (Germany) and The Ottawa Hospital (Canada).
A person’s walking technique is called their ‘gait’, and it has been determined that for neurological conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s Disease, there is a strong correlation between gait quality and disease progression. For patients, walking is consistently ranked at the #1 factor affecting Quality of Life; likewise, for clinicians, walking typically tops the list of factors for assessing changes in disease condition. Celestra Health has designed a platform that detects subtle changes in gait as a key indicator of the patient’s disease condition.
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
Celestra Health provides both patients and clinicians with a graphical analysis of changes in the patient’s gait over time.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Even small changes in cadence, balance, muscle strength and distance-related fatigue can be detected in a person’s gait. The Celestra Health platform identifies these changes (both deterioration and improvement) as part of monitoring a patient’s condition and better informing the treatment process.
Celestra Health provides patients with the features, reliability and ease-of-use to take more proactive control of their disease management.
At Home Convenience
Patients place the smart insoles in their favourite pair of shoes – and then forget about them. Every time you go for a walk, your smart insoles collect data on your gait; this data is securely transmitted to the Celestra Health cloud where AI algorithms are applied to gain insights into your walking patterns and balance. Our algorithms establish a baseline for each user, from which we can detect even the slightest changes. In some cases, the patient’s walking may improve due to physiotherapy and rehabilitation; in other cases, the patient’s walking pattern may show signs of deterioration. Celestra Health can even detect walking events such as foot drops and stumbles, or identify specific walking phenotypes (for example, MS patients often exhibit spasticity, due to a tightness in their leg muscles that prevents them from maintaining smooth, controlled limb movements and increases their risk of falling) or detect when the patient is using an assistive walking device.
How it Works
Celestra Health's intelligent, connected insoles are linked wirelessly to an easy-to-use software application prescribed by the clinician that is installed by the patient on their personal smartphone. The patient places the smart insoles in their everyday footwear; the smart insoles automatically wake up when movement is detected, at which point, walking data is collected as patients perform their usual daily activities. This provides a real-world view of patient walking quality under free living conditions. All patient data is uploaded and stored securely in the cloud, where advanced AI algorithms measure the patient’s walking quality with laboratory-grade accuracy.
CONNECTED AND POWERFUL
Each time the insoles are worn, the Celestra Health measures the patient’s walking quality in comparison to their historical gait signature. In addition to tracking gait changes, the Celestra Health platform can detect walking events such as foot drops and to identify specific walking phenotypes, such as ataxic, spastic or hemiplegic walking.
In the event of signs of significant disease progression, the clinician is automatically notified of the change, potentially triggering a change in treatment.
Celestra Health’s platform has been purpose-built for assessing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD) disease condition; it has been clinically proven to detect changes in disease condition with a high degree of sensitivity relative to existing standard-of-care assessments.
HIGH ACCURACY AT 1/100th THE COST
Celestra Health’s platform measures patient gait with laboratory-grade accuracy, at 1/100th the cost of a conventional gait laboratory. Celestra Health’s platform has been benchmarked against a state-of-the-art gait laboratory, with near perfect correlation. While smart watches and smart phones are widely used for tracking health and exercise-related data, there are limitations when it comes to tracking walking patterns using a device that is attached to your wrist or is in your back pocket, jacket or knapsack. While Celestra Health makes use of movement data available from your smart watch and/or smart phone (if available) to increase the accuracy of its insights, neither smart watches nor smart phones are able to capture gait data with the same level of accuracy.
PATIENT-CLINICIAN PARTNERSHIP
By connecting the smart insoles through our patient app and sharing the insights with the patient and clinician, highly granular changes in the patient’s condition can be identified simply and quickly, with treatment programs tailored accordingly.
Smart Insoles
While offering the same level of comfort as insoles that can be purchased from your local pharmacy, our smart insoles are equipped with sensors that measure the pressure exerted by different areas of your foot, as well as your acceleration and rotational movement in 3 dimensions.
These measurements are recorded 50x per second, allowing our platform to construct a highly accurate view of your walking signature and to track subtle changes over time that would otherwise not be detected. Personalized insights are shared with the patient through a smartphone app and to clinicians via a secure web portal.
PRECISION SENSORS
Multiple sensors are used to capture movement-related data, including acceleration, direction, pressure, speed and rotation. This data is transmitted wirelessly to the patient's smartphone using a Bluetooth connection.
DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS
Advanced AI algorithms translate the sensor data into real-time gait metrics such as step time, stride time, double support time, stride velocity, and cadence, as well as a proprietary set of walking quality scores that are easily interpretable by patients and clinicians. Continuous monitoring enables the formation of a highly accurate picture of disease condition over time. Celestra Health algorithms have been trained on the world’s largest database of Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease patient walking samples collected under free living conditions. Celestra Health is involved in 7 clinical trials in 4 countries (US, UK, Germany and Canada), allowing us to continually enhance our proprietary gait measurement algorithms.
Designed for Everyday Use
At Celestra Health, we have worked closely with patients to ensure our wearable device fits into their lives as seamlessly as possible. Our smart insoles are invisible to others, as they are fully hidden within the patient’s everyday footwear. We continue to consult closely with our Patient Advisory Board, in addition to the patient feedback we are receiving from our multi-country clinical trials
Clinicians typically meet with their patients every 6 to 12 months; it is challenging to assess whether the patient’s walking quality has significantly changed during the constraints of a 30-minute visit, especially given the highly complex nature of human gait. Clinicians typically rely on the Timed 25 Foot Walking Test, in additional to subjective observations that vary considerably between clinicians. By providing clinicians with a continuum of objective data, as opposed to a 10-second walking sample collected 1x or 2x per year, the patient’s condition can be accurately monitored for change over time.
Part of Your Health Insurance Plan
Celestra Health's solution is easy-to-use and affordable at 1/100 the cost of a conventional gait laboratory. Some or all the costs involved may be covered through your local health insurance provider or government health plan.
Celestra Health’s Software as a Medical Device platform reflects the critical role of our AI-based software algorithms for transforming raw sensor data into objective measurement and actionable insights. By unobtrusively monitoring patients in their home Celestra Health’s platform is purpose-built for At-Home use; it is also suitable for In-Clinic assessments.
Neurological Digital Biomarker for Monitoring of Disease Condition
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