Dynamic muscle function monitoring in older adults: development of a novel wearable device to measure muscle function

老年人的动态肌肉功能监测：开发一种新型可穿戴设备来测量肌肉功能

• 批准号: ES/V00946X/1
• 负责人: Annette Pantall
• 金额: $ 6.33万
• 依托单位: Newcastle University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FV00946X%2F1
• 关键词: Dynamic; muscle; function; monitoring; older

As people age, walking often becomes more difficult. This reduces mobility which increases the risk of falls and fractures, which may lead to loss of independent living, social isolation, and increased risk of death. Reasons why walking worsens with age including changes in circulation, nerves, lung function, joints, and muscles. This project focuses on age-related changes in muscle. A muscle disease known as sarcopenia is common in older adults, affecting 10% - 20% of adults over 65 years. Sarcopenia is characterized by muscle wasting and decreased muscle strength and function. Sarcopenia reduces mobility as the muscles are not strong enough to move the joints efficiently. Sarcopenia is also associated with many age-related chronic diseases and the immune system. Health care costs directly associated with muscle weakness and sarcopenia were estimated to be £2.5 billion in the UK in 2016. As the population ages, sarcopenia will affect a projected 18-32 million Europeans by 2045, an increase of 64% - 72% from 2016. Assessing the health of the muscular system and developing appropriate interventions for sarcopenia is therefore essential for advancing healthy ageing, longevity, and quality of life. Currently there is no reliable non-invasive, low-cost method of measuring muscle health and diagnosing sarcopenia. Our multidisciplinary team propose to develop a novel wearable device (the 'MyoSock') that is low cost, non-invasive and easy to use. The initial users of the device we will target will be researchers developing pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g. exercises and nutrition). The researchers will benefit from this device by having an objective method of measuring muscle health and of monitoring effectiveness of treatments. The long-term goal is to develop this device commercially for both clinical and nonclinical (general muscle activity monitoring) purposes comparable to smart watches such as fitbits or Apple iwatch measuring steps and pulse rate. The study consists of three elements: an engineering part, an experimental part, and an analytical validation part. Engineers together with a small UK company who produce 'intelligent' sports garments will develop the 'MyoSock'. It will contain different types of sensors connected by imprinted circuits enclosed in a knee length compression stocking. Signals will be sent to a computer or smartphone. The sensors will measure leg movement and changes in pressure, temperature and electricity generated when muscles contract. The experimental component will consist of two parts: testing the device in a university-based Movement Laboratory and imaging the leg muscles with magnetic resonance (MR) scans. Participants will include 20 healthy older women aged over 65 years. Women are selected as women have more problems with mobility and fall more often. The Movement Laboratory testing involves participants contracting leg muscles whilst sitting and walking for five minutes. The imaging will take place at the Magnetic Resonance Centre. The specialized MR scans will measure the volume of muscle, amount of fat in the muscle and indicate types of muscle fibres (slow / fast) present. The third component, analytical validation, will analyse the recordings from the 'MyoSock' and the MR scans. We will investigate relationships between muscle health measurements from the 'Myosock' and changes in muscle volume, fatty infiltration and muscle cell types as assessed by MR scans. An early stage researcher with funding for 3 years will also be working on development of the device. This project is highly innovative as it involves different sensor types, extracts novel features from signals and applies nontraditional methods to the signals. The detailed MR scans which allow us to 'look inside' the muscle will provide strong validation. In summary, this device could transform the approach to health care of the ageing population by addressing muscle health, essential for healthy ageing.

随着年龄的增长，走路往往变得越来越困难。这降低了活动性，增加了福尔斯和骨折的风险，这可能导致失去独立生活、社会孤立和死亡风险增加。走路会随着年龄增长而变慢的原因包括血液循环、神经、肺功能、关节和肌肉的变化。这个项目的重点是与年龄有关的肌肉变化。一种被称为肌肉减少症的肌肉疾病在老年人中很常见，影响10% - 20%的65岁以上的成年人。肌肉减少症的特征是肌肉萎缩和肌肉力量和功能下降。肌肉减少症降低了活动性，因为肌肉不够强壮，无法有效地移动关节。肌肉减少症也与许多与年龄相关的慢性疾病和免疫系统有关。2016年，英国与肌肉无力和肌肉减少症直接相关的医疗保健费用估计为25亿英镑。随着人口老龄化，预计到2045年，肌肉减少症将影响1800 - 3200万欧洲人，比2016年增加64% - 72%。因此，评估肌肉系统的健康状况并制定适当的肌肉减少症干预措施对于促进健康老龄化，长寿和生活质量至关重要。目前还没有可靠的非侵入性，低成本的方法来测量肌肉健康和诊断肌肉减少症。我们的多学科团队建议开发一种新型的可穿戴设备（“MyoSock”），该设备成本低，无创且易于使用。我们将针对的设备的初始用户将是开发药物和非药物干预（例如运动和营养）的研究人员。研究人员将从该设备中受益，因为它具有测量肌肉健康和监测治疗有效性的客观方法。长期目标是将该设备商业化，用于临床和非临床（一般肌肉活动监测）目的，与智能手表（如Fitbit或Apple iWatch）测量步数和脉搏率相当。该研究由三个部分组成：工程部分，实验部分和分析验证部分。工程师们将与一家生产“智能”运动服装的英国小公司合作开发“MyoSock”。它将包含不同类型的传感器，这些传感器由封装在膝盖长度压缩袜中的压印电路连接。信号将被发送到计算机或智能手机。传感器将测量腿部运动以及肌肉收缩时产生的压力、温度和电力的变化。实验部分将包括两个部分：在大学运动实验室测试该设备，并通过磁共振（MR）扫描对腿部肌肉进行成像。参与者将包括20名65岁以上的健康老年妇女。选择女性是因为女性在行动方面有更多的问题，而且更容易摔倒。运动实验室测试涉及参与者在坐着和行走五分钟时收缩腿部肌肉。成像将在磁共振中心进行。专门的MR扫描将测量肌肉的体积，肌肉中的脂肪量，并指示存在的肌肉纤维类型（慢/快）。第三个组成部分，分析确认，将分析来自“MyoSock”和MR扫描的记录。我们将研究肌肉健康测量从'Myosock'和肌肉体积的变化，脂肪浸润和肌肉细胞类型的MR扫描评估之间的关系。一名获得3年资助的早期研究人员也将致力于该设备的开发。该项目具有高度创新性，因为它涉及不同的传感器类型，从信号中提取新的特征，并将非传统方法应用于信号。详细的磁共振扫描，使我们能够'看看里面'的肌肉将提供强有力的验证。总之，该设备可以通过解决肌肉健康问题来改变老年人的医疗保健方法，这对健康老龄化至关重要。