APDM Remembers Andy Grove

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With the recent loss of former Intel Chairman Andy Grove, APDM remembers his legacy and the great contributions he made to our community.

Grove was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2000, and until his passing, spent much of his energy contributing to the research and treatment for the disease. Grove served as an advisor to the Michael J. Fox foundation, a partner of APDM, and created the Kinetics Foundation.

Andy promoted early adoption of APDM technology and supported some of the first research on the use of body-worn inertial sensors for Parkinson’s. He saw the usefulness of APDM technology and included it in clinical trials for the Kinetics Foundation.

APDM General Manager Matthew Johnson states, “Andy and the Kinetics Foundation were integral to the early success of APDM by recognizing the value of objective measures for assessing neurological disease progression, and subsequently integrating APDM’s Mobility Lab into various clinical studies funded by the Kinetics Foundation.” 

APDM worked with the Kinetics Foundation on the OMDM (Objective Movement Disorder Measurement) system. The system was born out of a close collaboration with other organizations including the Michael J. Fox foundation, Intel, OHSU, Portland State University, and many community leaders and scientists.

Dr. Fay Horak, APDM Chief Science Officer, worked closely with Andy – “He recognized the importance of research to validate new technology and he inspired us to translate new technologies into commercialization so they could immediately reduce the duration and cost of clinical trials and improve the lives of people with PD.”

The OMDM Mobility 1.0 system was an adoption of APDM’s inertial sensors, and was designed as an alternative to expensive data capture only achieved in a lab. Early studies using Mobility 1.0 showed its ability to track functional progression, and distinguish between controls and subjects with Parkinson’s better than existing clinical rating scales.

The OMDM Dexterity 1.0 system was a self-contained device with integrated video instruction. One of the most exciting attributes of the device was its ability to be used in the home. It is widely known that Parkinson’s disease state can vary drastically throughout the day, and the Dexterity 1.0 system allowed for more frequent measurements of a subject’s state over time.

The OMDM 2.0 system involved similar Dexterity and Mobility tests that also helped pave the way for objective measurement of Parkinson’s disease. The Dexterity test was taken on a computer with a keyboard that measured upper body bradykinesia, dexterity, and movement variability. The Mobility test was a smartphone app download that measured both Timed Up and Go and Postural Stability and Sway tests.

OMDM systems are still being used in several studies.

APDM thanks Andy Grove for his support, dedication, and contributions to the Parkinson’s and Neurodegenerative Disease communities.

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