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MS fatigue

Study focuses on predicting fatigue in people with MS

KCH Assistant Professor Manuel Hernandez received a $30,000 pilot grant from the Center on Health, Aging & Disability to study the use of wearable sensor data to predict fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis.

Hernandez said he believes the grant will new area of research for our interdisciplinary research team.

The study, entitled, “Artificial intelligence energy-regulation modeling to predict and classify fatigue levels and types in people with multiple sclerosis: A feasibility study,” starts July 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2022.

The study arose from discussions on how to collect, analyze and interpret wearable data with members of the Wellness Research Collaborative in Multiple Sclerosis (Well-MS) and Center for Wearable Intelligent Technologies at UIUC. Hernandez will work with Richard Sowers, a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Industrial & Enterprise Systems Engineering, and Chung-Yi Chiu, an associate professor in KCH.

Predicting fatigue “will hopefully lay the foundation to address the most complex and debilitating cognitive, physical, and psychological symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS),” Hernandez said.

“In terms of practical applications, the ability to predict symptoms in PwMS may allow for personalized lifestyle or physical activity recommendations aimed at maintaining the quality of life in PwMS,” he said.

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