Use of accelerometers integrated in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in identifying distinct patterns of movement in children with different cerebral palsy subtypes and assessing the effects of botulinum neurotoxin type A intervention

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a relatively prevalent condition, with an incidence of 1.7 to 3.1 per 1000 live births in high income countries, with higher incidence in low income countries. CP is the most common cause of physical disability in children. Advances in intervention options have been remarkable in recent decades, including botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) and intrathecal baclofen applications, improvements in orthopedic surgery and multiprofessional rehabilitation. However, the success rate is still very much dependent on each child's response to the available intervention. Knowledge about this condition is still very limited, with significant gaps in the understanding of its etiology, evaluation, classification, intervention, or influence on the child´s developmental trajectory and management and impact on the family. It is necessary to increase the availability of objective measures to improve the distinction between different motor deficiencies and the different responses that each motor deficiency has for each intervention. The objective of this project is to explore the use of accelerometers integrated in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to aid in the clinical evaluation of PC subtype and to verify possible motor functionality changes resulting from medical treatment, in particular the application of BoNT-A, to clinically validate the use of accelerometers as an objective measure of therapeutic efficiency.