Validation of MIRROR application for facial paralysis

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Validation of the MIRROR facial expression tracking application in healthy subjects and facial paralysis patients

• IRAS ID

  139558

• Contact name

  Charles Nduka

• Sponsor organisation

  Emteq Ltd

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 0 months, 1 days

• Research summary

  Facial paralysis (FP) presents from either a peripheral nervous abnormality (most commonly Bell's Palsy) or a central nervous lesion (usually a cerebro-vascular accident ((CVA)). Bell’s Palsy accounts for 60% of cases of facial palsy, causing up to 24,800 new UK cases annually, leaving upwards of 100,000 people living with permanent disability. Of the 152,000 CVAs per year in the UK, many patients suffer resultant chronic facial movement problems.

  Current methods for tracking facial expression recovery include subjective measures, e.g. doctor-delivered grading systems, and objective measures, e.g. 2D / 3D imaging (photography and/or stereophotogrammetry) or videos of dynamic facial function. However, a consensus method for objectively measuring initial paralysis and monitoring progress towards normal facial expressions remains elusive. Gold standard treatment for FP includes daily rehabilitative exercises, but patients often fail to perform these regularly due to lack of feedback on exercise efficacy, leading to demotivation and non-compliance with the prescribed physiotherapy. This in turn reduces patients’ likelihood of recovery of normal facial function.

  A new iPad-based non-invasive physiotherapeutic software application (MIRROR) has been developed, allowing FP patients to objectively track their paralysis / facial expressions in real-time via MIRROR’s immediate feedback on exercise performance. To validate MIRROR, a study has been designed to analyse the facial movements of healthy and FP patients pre- and post-administration of Botulinum toxin (BT). Each subject’s response to BT over the period of action of the injected BT will be assessed. Subjects will have their facial expressions quantitatively analysed via subjective grading scales validated for use in FP analysis, 2D / 3D imaging, via surface-electromyography (sEMG) and using MIRROR.

• REC name

  London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  16/LO/1780

• Date of REC Opinion

  8 Feb 2017

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion