Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Among its motor symptoms are bradykinesia, tremors, rigidity, and postural instability. Handwriting variations known as “Parkinsonian handwriting” or “micrographia” are frequently linked to Parkinson's disease. The condition is characterized by tiny, cramped handwriting that gets smaller with time. The illness may make writing challenging and frequently results in less readable text. Innovative handwriting markers are becoming more and more popular as methods for diagnosing and monitoring PD. A new handwriting marker-based Parkinson's disease decision support system is covered in this chapter, with an emphasis on how useful it may be for early detection and tracking.
TopIntroduction
A steady deterioration in cognitive, functional, and behavioral abilities is caused by neurodegenerative disorders, by affecting the way different brain regions grow and operate. Parkinson's disease (PD) is primarily characterized by non-motor impairments including depression, sleep difficulties, and dementia as well as motor symptoms like akinesia, bradykinesia, stiffness, and tremor (DeMaagd & Philip, 2015).
The neurodegenerative condition that causes neuro-motor abnormalities most commonly, second only to Alzheimer's disease, is PD. It is common knowledge that PD patients have difficulties performing sequential motions due to a breakdown of coordination between the motor sequence's individual parts (Bevilacqua et al., 2011; Carnimeo et al., 2019; Buongiorno et al., 2018; Bortone et al., 2019; Cascarano et al., 2020; Bidet-Ildei et al., 2011; Carmeli et al., 2003).
One of the first indications of diminished motor control in PD is dysgraphia, a complex process that involves motor planning, programming, initiating, and completion. A sophisticated synthesis of motor, sensory, and cognitive abilities, as well as delicate and nuanced physical dexterity, is required for handwriting. It is an activity that is made up of consecutive actions (Carmeli et al., 2003).
This explains why the handwriting of PD patients exhibits abnormal traits. Patients with Parkinson's disease typically have two types of challenges while writing by hand: issues with movement amplitude control, such as scaling down character size (micrographia) and failing to maintain steady character stroke width throughout the writing process (McLennan et al., 2003; Flash et al., 1992; Margolin & Wing 1983; Müller & Stelmach 1992; Contreras-Vidal et al., 1995; Van Gemmert et al., 1999; Van Gemmert et al., 2001; Teulings et al., 2002).
Not repetitive and bradykinetic motions that result in lengthened motions, slowed motions, and unstable velocity and acceleration (Drotar et al., 2013; Nutt & Wooten 2005; Nutt et al., 2000; Gordon 1998; Tresilian et al.,1997; Rand et al., 2000).