An innovative medical device designed in Australia to improve management of Parkinson’s is to be made available in services in the United Kingdom, as part of a 12-month pilot project.

Lead Parkinson’s research and support charity Parkinson’s UK will enable access to the medical device, known as the Parkinson’s KinetiGraph (PKG), for up to 200 people living with Parkinson’s throughout the UK.

The Parkinson’s KinetiGraph, or PKG, is a wrist worn technology that automatically records highly specific movement data and information about medication concordance. This valuable information will assist treating clinicians to more accurately monitor symptoms and so better manage the condition.

Global Kinetics Corporation Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Andrew Maxwell said, "Our company was founded by leading Australian neurologists and brain researchers who recognised that clinicians require actionable information to inform their patient management."

"GKC has long held the view that measurement matters in Parkinson’s, and this will assist clinicians to provide optimum treatment, leading to better quality of life for patients and superior health cost outcomes."

As part of the pilot program, patients wear the technology for 10 days prior to consultation with their specialists to allow information about their symptoms and their impact on daily life to be tracked.

Steve Ford, Chief Executive of Parkinson’s UK commented, "This is a new way of managing Parkinson’s and we eagerly await the outcome of this important evaluation program."

"Mobile health technologies provide a new opportunity to monitor and manage this debilitating movement disorder affecting an estimated 127,000 people in the UK alone."

"Tools that are able to provide more objective information about how symptoms actually affect people in their everyday lives can assist clinicians in planning more suitable medication regimes. Our aim is for people living with the condition to receive the best possible treatment that best manages the symptoms that affect their quality of life."

The PKG technology, developed by Australian neurologists at Global Kinetics Corporation, has been validated and used in premier movement disorder centres across Europe, Australia and Asia.

Mr. Maxwell said Parkinson’s UK is a highly influential patient focused organisation, committed to helping people with Parkinson’s live the best possible quality of life.

He said he was confident that technologies such as the PKG would become a routine management tool throughout the UK.