Handwriting Biomarkers

Compared with speech, handwriting is presented as less sensitive to linguistic and cultural variability and easier to standardize. Handwriting is positioned as a non-invasive digital biomarker for Alzheimer's disease because it reflects cognitive and motor processes disrupted early in the disease. The DARWIN protocol included handwriting tasks that covered motor, visuospatial, memory, and dictation activities. The article says handwriting features are heterogeneous and high-dimensional, creating a modeling challenge. The extracted handwriting features represented timing, movement, tremor, spatial dispersion, pen-down count, and pressure behavior.