Mumbai: Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai, has launched a pioneering artificial intelligence project aimed at predicting Freezing of Gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s disease. The initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Paresh Doshi, Director of Neurosurgery at Jaslok Hospital and will be joined by globally recognised expert in functional neurosurgery, from the Brain Research Initiative, Paris, France, Dr. Carine Karachi. The project will be formally introduced on World Parkinson’s Day.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, and its prevalence is rising in India, highlighting the growing need for earlier and more precise intervention tools. In this context, the project sits at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence and focuses on developing a scalable and cost-efficient digital tool for early identification of risk in Freezing of Gait, one of its most disabling complications.
Patients often experience a sudden inability to initiate or continue walking, describing the sensation as if their feet are “glued to the floor.” This leads to frequent falls, injuries, progressive loss of independence and a significant caregiver burden, affecting up to 80% of patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease. Despite this high prevalence and impact, no definitive treatment is currently available.
Although emerging research suggests that structured motor and cognitive training may delay onset, clinical practice still lacks reliable tools to identify individuals at risk or to determine when the condition may emerge. Most existing predictive approaches rely on clinical scoring systems, imaging biomarkers or biochemical tests, which are often expensive, resource-intensive and largely confined to specialised research settings. Besides none of the tool can definitely predict at individual level if one would develop freezing of gait in the course of disease.
The proposed AI-based system under this collaboration addresses this gap by introducing a dual approach that estimates both the likelihood of FOG and its probable time to FOG, enabling earlier clinical intervention and more targeted preventive planning. The unique aspect of time to FOG is being explored for the first time. This has been possible due availability of longitudinal clinical and video data over 25 years of more than 750 patients who have undergone DBS surgery at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre. The system is designed around a simple yet highly scalable framework that analyses routine video recordings of a patient’s walking pattern. It will use computer vision and machine learning techniques to identify subtle changes in gait and body coordination that may signal early vulnerability to freezing episodes. Since the approach does not rely on specialised wearable devices or high-cost diagnostic infrastructure, it is intended for deployment across hospitals, outpatient clinics and telemedicine platforms, including resource-limited settings.
To ensure clinical robustness, the research has been structured in two distinct phases. The first phase focuses on model development using retrospective clinical data and video recordings from more than 150 Parkinson’s patients who developed Freezing of Gait during long-term follow-up. The second phase will validate the model prospectively in a cohort of 337 patients followed over a period of up to three years.
The long-term objective of this initiative is to develop an open-access and user-friendly AI application that enables clinicians to identify at-risk patients early, estimate likely onset timelines, introduce preventive interventions at the right stage, and ultimately reduce falls, disability and overall disease burden while improving quality of life for patients and caregivers.
Dr. Paresh Doshi, Director Neurosurgery and Stereotactic & Functional Neurosurgery, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, said, “Parkinson’s disease is steadily increasing in India, placing greater pressure on already stretched neurological care systems where early motor changes are often under-recognised in routine practice. This collaboration is significant because it reflects a step toward strengthening how such changes are identified and interpreted in real-world settings. It can help clinicians act earlier in a disease course that can otherwise progress silently until disability becomes more difficult to manage.”
Collaboration:
Dr. Carine Karachi and her team, who are the world leaders in research on FOG, have shown significant interest in collaborating with Dr. Paresh Doshi and Jaslok Hospital. As of today, their grant application to CEFIPRA, a joint funding agency between India and France, is under review.
Dr Carine Karachi, Brain Research Initiative, said, “The data which Prof. Doshi has assimilated over 30 years is unique in the world. The significance of a longitudinal data analysis is unparallel and we are very excited to join hands and share our expertise in the field to bring this very essential research to reality. This initiative reflects the importance of structured international collaboration in neurosurgical research, where shared clinical responsibility and scientific discipline help shape more rigorous and forward-looking research pathways. Working across institutions allows complex neurological questions to be approached with greater depth, ensuring that research efforts remain both methodologically strong and clinically relevant.”
Dr. Doshi added, “FOG has been a major challenge for PD patients world over. Similar to Alzheimer’s research, FOG research is at the core of challenging issues of PD research. At our institute, we recently published a paper to address FOG by novel programming technique. This research will be helpful in solving one of the most challenging problem of Parkinson’s disease”
Jitendra Haryan, CEO, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, said: "Jaslok Hospital is committed to making AI a practical tool for clinical use. This initiative isn't just about adopting new technology; it’s about ensuring it creates real-world impact. By using scalable AI to simplify complex neurological patterns, we're making early detection more achievable for everyone.
This project reflects our vision of combining clinical excellence with responsible innovation to directly improve patient outcomes and the quality of care."By combining clinical neuroscience, artificial intelligence and accessible video-based analysis, the initiative represents a significant step toward transforming how Parkinson’s disease complications are anticipated and managed in India and globally.
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