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SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2015 10:12 pm
by admin
SMARTPHONE + OT

UPDATE - the current version of the LiftPulse app is only available for Android phones. But there are several other Apps that are low cost that are available for the iPhone.

The article below is an update to an earlier discussion which started in 2013 and contained feedback from other forum members using older versions of the applications... Link to read the original discussion

The typical speed of the Orthostatic Tremor is fast… so fast that it is somewhat unique to OT. If you could record the high speed tremor of OT with a very common and accessible device could this help describe the tremor to others or reduce the time to a diagnosis?

This required an iPhone, a free app, a knee high stocking, a sturdy chair to hold onto and someone to push the button.

Here’s the very unscientific process that we followed:

1. Downloaded a free iPhone app called Lift Pulse - Link to Lift Plus App
2. Attached a smartphone to the calf muscle using a knee-high stocking (phone is rotated so that the record button is accessible above the stocking. (see Fig.1)
3. Pressed the record button during free standing (see Fig.2)
4. Lift Pulse records the tremor for 10 seconds and reports the frequency of the dominant tremor, (see Fig.3)


The results were well within the normal 12-20 Hz range of OT and consistent over 3 consecutive attempts.
18.46 Hz / 18.26 Hz / 18.26 Hz (see Fig.3)

The phone that was used was an older iPhone 4s, the newer models have much better sensors. There have been some tests with pedometer apps, and they have found that newer phones with better sensors and processors are more precise.

Smartphones include an accelerometer which detects movement and speed in 3 dimensions. Lift Pulse is an application that can be installed on a smartphone and interprets the data from the sensor and reports in very easy to understand terms the frequency of the tremor. LiftPulse works on Apple iPhones and Android, although I have only used the iPhone version - Link to Lift Plus App. Liftware has moved on to produce a very successful stabilizing spoon and other devices to help with other tremors. liftware.com

You can read a discussion from 2013 on this forum about smartphone applications. This contains a little of the history and experiences of other users. Some of the applications mentioned may have changed, but the underlying process is similar. Below are 2 quotes from the original discussion by forum members that used iSeismometer an older application that was developed to record earthquakes but is capable of reading human tremors as well:

Joan C - posted a very practical use of the same application:
I find the iPhone app iSeismometer to be a great way to show people (including doctors) exactly what you are telling them about your tremors. Turn it on - have them stand and hold it to their leg (no movement on the iSeismometer). Then stand and hold it to your leg (looks like an earthquake!!). The light goes on in their eyes and I've found that even the people who have helped me cope for the last 12 years seem to finally "get it."
Dwight - posted his experience:
I decided to test the iSensometer with my ET. Holding my iphone in each hand It came up perfectly with a tremor of about 6Hz on several tries. OK, I assumed that it works. Next I held it to my leg. Problem. I kept coming up with 6Hz not the 14 to 15 Hz expected. In a side email JoanC said try straping the iphone to my leg. Take my hands off it as it is probably primarily picking up my ET tremors from my hand.

Guess what. Strapped to my leg I got 14 to 15Hz, exactly as expected.
Link to original discussion

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Image

Fig.1 iPhone was placed on the back of the calf muscle, and inverted so that the "Record" button is accessible

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Image

Fig.2 Choosing the "View" icon at the bottom of the screen shows the last recording


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Image

Fig.3 Series of 3 recordings showing closely aligned results

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Hope you found this interesting. If you have any similar experiences, or simply have a comment, please feel free to discuss your thoughts by clicking on "reply" ( you will need to login to the forum to post your message).


And now for the disclaimer...nothing is endorsed or implied other than this being a reporting of the process that we used to record the tremor using an iPhone and Lift Pulse.

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:06 am
by MikeS
Hi
Just to let you know that I have Lift Pulse back on my Iphone again
Regards
Mike

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 9:19 pm
by Margaret Fredrickson
We used the lift plus smart phone app according to instructions found on this site. It produced a clear graph illustrating my tremors. It was a great comfort to see physical evidence of what I have felt for years. I sent a note and copy of the graph to both my neurologist and primary care doctor. I have often felt that they thought I was just imagining something.

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 1:14 pm
by gardenlily
I have been told by the Lift Pulse makers that this app no longer keeps track of tremors but that one can still download it and perhaps use a diary to track the tremors. Seems rather useless to me, so I have deleted the useless app from my android phone. This information was sent to me at the beginning of July, 2017.

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:49 pm
by admin
Hi GardenLily

It's unfortunate that the app developers have stopped updating LiftPulse. There are a couple other tremor applications available. In my opinion these applications had the most potential for people to help define or at least point in the correct direction. To help decide whether it may be OT or not, and with these apps it was possible to identify the fast tremor which is almost exclusive to OT. Some people found that it was difficult to get an EMG test through their healthcare providers. An EMG is considered the most conclusive test available. Either the equipment was not available through their doctor or because of cost.

best regards.

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:55 pm
by Jolanda
Is there an app available right now? For android or IPhone?
Iseismometer en Liftpulse are not available anymore. There are other 'earthquake-apps' but i don't know how to read the results. it's not in hertz so i don't know what to think of it.
Any recommandations?

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:26 pm
by admin
Currently StudyMyTremor is available for iOS (iPhone) :

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/studymy ... 88021?mt=8

The app costs $3.99 and can record a tremor with a frequency up to 20Hz. Smartphone apps are so important because of their accessibility compared to other less available and more expensive devices. With these tools and the unique fast tremor of OT, most often within the range of 13-18Hz, the smartphone has the potential to shorten the time of a diagnosis.

And below is a report on the use of the StudyMyTremor with OT:

https://n.neurology.org/content/92/15_S ... NlRWunINH4

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 1:49 pm
by Jolanda
Thanks, that's very usefull information. Unfortenately, my Iphone is from work, so I don't want to download apps that cost money. It's not available for android. I'll wait till my son comes home from Scotland next sunday, I'll ask him to download the app.

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2019 11:47 am
by Photocatseyes
MikeS wrote: Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:06 am Hi
Just to let you know that I have Lift Pulse back on my Iphone again
Regards
Mike
Hi Mike, woul it be possible to send me a copy? I do not mind paying but don’t find the app... I can talk you through it how to do it should you need that. Thanks in advance.

Study my Tremor looks like it’s for essential tremor & you hold it in your hand. Can you just hold the phone against you

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:17 pm
by Christy T.
admin wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 2:26 pm Currently StudyMyTremor is available for iOS (iPhone) :

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/studymy ... 88021?mt=8

The app costs $3.99 and can record a tremor with a frequency up to 20Hz. Smartphone apps are so important because of their accessibility compared to other less available and more expensive devices. With these tools and the unique fast tremor of OT, most often within the range of 13-18Hz, the smartphone has the potential to shorten the time of a diagnosis.

And below is a report on the use of the StudyMyTremor with OT:

https://n.neurology.org/content/92/15_S ... NlRWunINH4

Re: SmartPhone apps and the OT tremor... (update)

Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2022 11:52 am
by admin
In 2017 The team of Danish Bhatti MD, Rebecca Thompson MD, Amy Hellman MD, Cynthia Penke RN, John M Bertoni MD, Diego Torres-Russotto MD published a very helpful study on the use of smartphone apps to assist in screening for Orthostatic Tremor.

Unfortunately one of the Apps in the paper “Lift Pulse” is no longer available on an iPhone. But… good news, I have stumbled upon and app by a very talented developer because in his words “My father, a neurologist was searching for an app that he could use that would measure his patients tremor frequencies”

It can be found in the Apple App Store - search on TremorAnalysis

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tremor-an ... 1579194791

And below is the link to the research paper from the UNMC:

Smartphone Apps Provide a Simple,Accurate Bedside Screening Tool forOrthostatic Tremor -
https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary ... mdc3.12547