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Observational Study
. 2021 Jul 23;18(15):7824.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18157824.

ECOCAPTURE@HOME: Protocol for the Remote Assessment of Apathy and Its Everyday-Life Consequences

Valérie Godefroy  1 , Richard Levy  1   2   3 , Arabella Bouzigues  1 , Armelle Rametti-Lacroux  1 , Raffaella Migliaccio  1   2 , Bénédicte Batrancourt  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

ECOCAPTURE@HOME: Protocol for the Remote Assessment of Apathy and Its Everyday-Life Consequences

Valérie Godefroy et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Apathy, a common neuropsychiatric symptom associated with dementia, has a strong impact on patients' and caregivers' quality of life. However, it is still poorly understood and hard to define. The main objective of the ECOCAPTURE programme is to define a behavioural signature of apathy using an ecological approach. Within this program, ECOCAPTURE@HOME is an observational study which aims to validate a method based on new technologies for the remote monitoring of apathy in real life. For this study, we plan to recruit 60 couples: 20 patient-caregiver dyads in which patients suffer from behavioral variant Fronto-Temporal Dementia, 20 patient-caregiver dyads in which patients suffer from Alzheimer Disease and 20 healthy control couples. These dyads will be followed for 28 consecutive days via multi-sensor bracelets collecting passive data (acceleration, electrodermal activity, blood volume pulse). Active data will also be collected by questionnaires on a smartphone application. Using a pool of metrics extracted from these passive and active data, we will validate a measurement model for three behavioural markers of apathy (i.e., daytime activity, quality of sleep, and emotional arousal). The final purpose is to facilitate the follow-up and precise diagnosis of apathy, towards a personalised treatment of this condition within everyday life.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04865172.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; acceleration; apathy; blood volume pulse; electrodermal activity; fronto-temporal dementia; patient-caregiver dyads; remote monitoring; sensors.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has any financial or personal interests to declare regarding this research.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Methodological characteristics and applications of ECOCAPTURE studies. AD: Alzheimer’s disease; FTD: frontotemporal dementia (behavioural variant); PD: Parkinson’s disease; EDA: electrodermal activity; HR: heart rate.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Experimental design with two broad kinds of variables: (1) the behavioural markers of apathy (in green); (2) the caregiver’s perception of patient-caregiver status (in blue). EDA: electrodermal activity (or skin conductance); HR: heart rate.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Example of follow-up calendar for a patient-caregiver dyad. Sensors are worn by both patient and caregiver. Questionnaires are completed exclusively by the caregiver.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Summarised data flow during the 28-day follow-up.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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