The aim is to address Parkinson’s disease (PD), its symptomatic hypomimia (“facial masking”), and the ever-increasing technological demand for early-indicating detection techniques. Through interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral secondments, researchers train in world-leading measurement techniques, including the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) and the Neuropsychological Gesture Coding System (NEUROGES); cutting-edge measurement technologies; and advanced computational statistics analysis.

MASKED applies the statistical analysis of empirical laws to scientific measurements of nonverbal behavior. To generate statistical models and interpret semiotic meanings, the project considers the medico-scientific ethics and multi-perspectival values behind the hypomimic sign and its signification across environmental contexts and lived experiences. Both correlational methods and conceptual models play equally critical roles.

These solutions will have not only long-term applicability across diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic disease stages, but also wide-reaching utility across provider, caregiver, and patient treatment stakeholders. The hope with the MASKED project is to improve patient-health outcomes and mitigate socio-economic burdens among families, communities, and societies affected by PD and related chronic, progressive illnesses.