Therapeutic area

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Developing digital measures of movement, daily activity, falls, upper limb function, fine motor control, and speech to support ALS research.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that damages motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. These nerve cells control voluntary muscle movement and breathing. ALS causes increasing muscle weakness and can affect walking, hand use, speech, swallowing, and breathing. The pattern and rate of progression vary between individuals.

Talk to our team Explore our research

Two completed clinical studies in ALS

Our research includes a longitudinal remote monitoring study and a single-visit assessment study in ALS and related motor neuron diseases, using wearable sensors and digital speech and fine motor assessments.

Explore our clinical studies

Our research in ALS

Our ALS research focuses on three complementary areas: developing digital measures of motor function, daily activity, falls, and speech; exploring whether speech and fine motor features can help distinguish ALS from other conditions; and building longitudinal datasets to complement clinical trial assessments.

Digital measures for tracking ALS

We combine wearable sensors with digital speech and fine motor tasks to study ALS in daily life. Developed with ALS experts and patient feedback, this approach collects repeated measures of movement and speech alongside clinical assessments and patient-reported symptoms. Research is evaluating how these measures relate to functional change over time.

  • PAMSys and PAMSys Fall

    Wearable sensors that measure activity, posture, and movement patterns. PAMSys Fall detects possible falls for participant confirmation and research review.

  • PAMSys ULM

    Wrist-worn sensors that record movement during daily activities, with algorithms estimating patterns of goal-directed upper limb use.

  • BioDigit Speech

    Standardized speech tasks and automated analysis to quantify features such as speaking rate, articulation, and intelligibility.

Investigating digital features for ALS differentiation

Early ALS symptoms can overlap with those of other conditions. We are investigating whether digital speech and fine motor assessments can contribute to diagnostic research. A published cross-sectional speech study compared ALS with other neurodegenerative diseases and healthy controls; it did not establish a diagnostic test for ALS or its clinical mimics.

  • Speech analysis

    Automated analysis of speech features to investigate differences between ALS, other neurodegenerative diseases, and healthy controls.

  • Fine motor assessment

    Digital pattern tracing and handwriting tasks to study fine motor performance in people with motor neuron disease and healthy controls.

  • Machine learning classification

    Exploratory models trained on digital speech features to classify diagnostic groups, with further validation needed before clinical use.

Research evidence for digital measures in ALS

Conference reports describe the feasibility of remote monitoring in ALS and associations between digital measures and clinical scores. These pilot findings inform further evaluation of sensitivity to change and potential use as clinical trial outcomes.

  • Remote monitoring

    Multimodal remote monitoring

    A 2025 AAN abstract analyzed 18 participants across 51 visits, with follow-up of up to 12 months. One-week wearable recordings after visits and digital tasks every two weeks supported feasibility and showed associations with ALSFRS-R scores.

  • Upper limb function

    Continuous upper limb monitoring

    A 2024 AAN abstract included 11 participants with ALS in a study of neurological disorders. Participants wore a wrist sensor for one week to evaluate movement features in relation to disease-specific clinical scores.

Our clinical studies in ALS

Our studies examine ALS and related motor neuron diseases through longitudinal remote monitoring and a separate single-visit comparison with healthy controls. The summaries below reflect registry reporting updated in June 2026. Enrollment totals include eligible motor neuron disease groups and, for BioDigit ALS2, healthy controls.

Our research partners

Our ALS research brings together academic medical centers and patient advocacy organizations.

  • ALS Association
  • Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Penn State College of Medicine
  • University of Kansas Medical Center

Selected publications and presentations

Advance ALS research with digital measures

Plan digital assessments for your ALS study. Discuss research collaborations, study protocols, and data access with our team.

Talk to our team