Parkinson’s patients in the UK see a neurologist for just 19 minutes per year, leaving 50% of them on ineffective or harmful treatments within five years. SERG Technologies, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is building a wearable platform called SERG-MED that continuously monitors all major Parkinson’s symptoms—including muscle rigidity, which no existing product can measure. The platform tracks motor and cognitive fluctuations throughout the day, then shares the data with clinicians via dashboards, enabling personalised medication adjustments without requiring in-person visits. Current NHS care costs over £300 million annually, yet a Parkinson’s UK audit found treatment quality is poor. The problem is that Parkinson’s symptoms change hour by hour, but standard assessments capture only a snapshot. SERG-MED aims to close this gap by providing continuous, passive monitoring that gives doctors a complete picture of a patient’s condition. A pilot study with 35 patients at St George’s Hospital London will test feasibility, with results used to design a larger randomised trial. If successful, the platform could shift Parkinson’s care from reactive, appointment-based management to a closed-loop system where treatment is adjusted remotely and in real time. That would reduce side effects, improve quality of life for 145,000 people in the UK, and lower the £2.9 billion annual societal cost of the disease.
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SERG Technologies, a spin-out from Imperial College London, is leading an 18-month project to develop SERG-MED, a digital wearable platform designed to continuously monitor the full range of symptoms experienced by people with Parkinson's disease (PwP). The aim is to improve clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. Parkinson's prevalence in the UK has risen by 18% in the past five years, affecting 145,000 people in the UK and 10 million globally. As the condition progresses, its motor and cognitive symptoms worsen, severely reducing quality of life and independence. Despite the NHS spending over £300 million annually on Parkinson's care, a recent Parkinson's UK audit raised concerns about the quality of treatment, contributing to societal costs of over £2.9 billion per year. Parkinson's is a highly complex condition, with motor symptoms fluctuating throughout the day, requiring frequent and personalised treatment adjustments. Continuous monitoring is essential for effective disease management, yet current assessments are limited in scope. Patients typically see a neurologist for only 19 minutes and a specialist nurse for just 24 minutes per year. This often leads to 50% of PwP experiencing serious side effects or receiving ineffective treatment within five years, rising to 80% within ten years. No existing product on the market or in development can effectively assess muscle rigidity, a critical symptom in understanding the integrity of a patient's motor system. This gap in current solutions means they cannot provide a complete picture of a patient's condition, reducing their clinical value. Additionally, technical limitations, accuracy issues, and high costs prevent existing solutions from being used for long-term, remote, and passive monitoring. SERG Technologies builds on six years of research in Imperial College London's Biomechatronics Lab and four years of field testing. The company has developed a patented system capable of uniquely quantifying all major Parkinson's symptoms, including rigidity. This system supports standardised, multidisciplinary collaboration, with data shared via dashboards, enabling clinicians to make more informed decisions. In collaboration with St George's Hospital London, a pilot study involving 35 patients will be conducted to assess the system's feasibility. The statistical relevance of the study will be independently evaluated by Imperial College's Biostatistics Department, and the results will inform power calculations for a larger randomised controlled trial (RCT). SERG-MED offers the potential to revolutionise Parkinson's treatment through closed-loop management, this innovative approach represents a significant shift in Parkinson's care, with the potential to improve patient outcomes and optimise NHS resources.
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