Blog This Wearable Bracelet Can Track Bipolar Disorder

This Wearable Bracelet Can Track Bipolar Disorder

Rapid treatment against mental health issues seems to be the top priority of every health technology nowadays. Following the same, a study conducted by the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology students experimented on a wearable bracelet that tracks the nuance symptoms biomarkers of bipolar disorder.

The sum total of researchers included a group of psychiatrists from Barcelona in collaboration with data scientists from Edinburgh. Their main focus was to experiment with a research-grade wearable device that can track symptoms of bipolar disorder. The experiment was conducted on subjects diagnosed with bipolar disorder. They wanted to check the different biomarkers at separate stages of a bipolar episode.

Previously known as manic depressive illness, bipolar disorder is one such disorder that causes extreme disparities between moods. It can have episodes of elevation, which is medically known as a manic episode. This is when the dopamine level is high in the body. On the other end, patients can suffer from depressive episodes, which results in a lack of dopamine release. These lead to a neurological chemical imbalance.

The purpose of this device was to become a form of bipolar disorder test that helps professionals understand the stress indicators of each episode easily. Hence, providers provide quicker and more personalized treatment for a patient suffering from bipolar disorder. In fact, this device can also detect early signs of bipolar and provide premature treatment to prevent the disorder from worsening.

The top biomarker detected from the device was definitely an electrodermal activity. According to the researchers, a good way to understand the stress level among patients is their skin’s electrical conductivity. If the patient themselves are unable to navigate their mood, this nervous system reactivity can detect whether they are in a depressive state or manic state. Or whether the patient should start preparing for either stage.

The research was conducted among a total of 38 patients with diagnosed bipolar disorder to understand the spectrum better, especially whether the biomarker indicators are different for different patients.

A researcher, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzi, threw some light on the subject by saying, “We found that bipolar disorder patients have a lower skin electrical activity when they are at their depressive stage. This is way below than the skin electrical activity of a normal control group (subjects with no bipolar disorder). On the other hand, the shift can also be detected when a patient is moving from the manic to depressive stage.” (Source: Bangalore Mirror)

These indicators will definitely help professionals in early diagnosis and prescribing bipolar disorder medication.

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