Table 6 Summary of mobile and wearable sensor data changes for PwMS and healthy controls

Physiological

Heart Rate (HR)

Increased fatigue is associated with increased HR and reduced HRV³³.

Continuous

Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

Continuous

Blood Pulse Wave (BPW)

Continuous

Blood Perfusion (BP)

Continuous

Skin Temperature (ST)

Healthy adults have lower skin temperature than people with mild cognitive impairments³⁶.

Continuous

Behavioral

Physical Activity

PwMS have problems with balance and feeling dizzy, which can have knock-on effects on their walking. PwMS are less physically active than healthy controls³⁵.

Continuous

Steps

People’s activity influences MS symptoms (e.g., fatigue), which in turn impact the MS disability level⁵⁴.

Continuous

Phone locks/unlocks

These features could reflect smartphone usage, which might inform the ability to concentrate and the extend of sedentary behavior.

Event-based

Motor performance

Tapping Task

Decline in performance during a tapping task, or fatigability, has been previously shown as a promising objective marker of fatigue³.

Daily

Sleep routine

Sleep Duration

Sleep disturbances are significantly higher in PwMS than in the general population. They may affect women with MS more than men⁶³.

Daily

Patient

Age

Age is positively related to disease severity⁵³ and functioning of PwMS.

Once

information

Gender

Females are more prone to MS than males⁵².

Once